A Choice
by Celtic karate
Summary: inspired by six people you meet in heaven and a christmas carol. alternate universe after the events of JD
1. Chapter 1

A/N: so here is another tale that came to me one day. I have looked for when Jen's dad died, but couldn't find anything or any info on Jen's date of birth. So I decided to make it 1989 and say Jen was 21 when her father died.

A Choice

She groaned in pain. Her shoulder and stomach were on fire with the pain. She forced herself to open her eyes. She was surrounded in white, but the white was not painful, it was pleasant and soothing. The more she looked around, the more her surroundings became clearer. The white became white walls of a hospital and she found herself on a bed. But she didn't have any of the machines hooked up to her like she would in a hospital. There was no heart monitor to tick away the sounds of her beating heart; there was no clamp on her finger monitoring her pulse. Where was she?

She sat back in the bed and thought about the last things she remembered: Decker's funeral, Mr. Oshimada, Svetlana's return, calling Franks and the dinner. She was shot. Was she dead? Was this like a processing center, like having your heart weighed against the Feather of Truth in Egyptian Mythology?

"No, nothing like that." A voice sounded from the door way of her "hospital room". She looked to the door way to see someone leaning against the door frame. She was very young; she looked to be maybe 19 or 20 years old. The girl had dancing emerald eyes, just like she did. Her hair was a dark red, so dark it seemed brown, like mahogany.

"Then where am I?" She asked the women.

"You Jennifer Shepard, are here to make a choice."

"What Choice?"

"To live or to die. And to help you on this journey you will talk to people in your life you have died. There are four people here to talk to you. In addition I am here kind of like the Ghosts of Christmas past, present and future all combined in one. I will talk you to your biggest three regrets in life and show you what would have happened if you made another choice."

"So at the end of all this I can remain dead and move on or. . .?"

"Or you can go back to a certain point in your life. You have a choice there too, but I won't tell you until you make your choice." The girl sounded like this was the first time she gave this speech.

"Okay so this is like "5 people you meet in heaven" and "A Christmas Carol" all in one. So then who are you?"

"Okay, go back to the days before you found your father." Jenny raised her eyebrow. "Yes I know about that too. Go back and tell me what you did that day."

Jenny closed her eyes and went back like the girl suggested. "I had been feeling sick for a few days; I thought it was a food bug or something. So I went to the doctor two days before I found my father. She had drawn some blood, because I didn't show any of the other symptoms of having a bug besides being sick in the mornings and around the smell of certain foods. She said that I would have to come back the next day, because the lab was backed up. So I left for the day and returned home. The house was empty so I just went to bed and dozed for the rest of the day.

"The next day I returned to her office. I was called right in. She told me I was two months pregnant. I was in shock. I had a drunken one night stand around that time and didn't realize that we didn't use a condom."

"What happened next Jenny?"

"I left the office and drove around for a few hours. Once the shock wore off I felt happy, happier then I had felt in a long time. I wanted to keep this baby. So I knew I had to tell my dad; so I started to drive home. About a half-hour later I pulled into the driveway and entered the house. My dad's car was parked outside, so I knew he was home. I went to his study. I paused outside the door and I heard him yelling at somebody so I decided to wait until the next day to tell him. So I went up to my room and read some of my books for the rest of the day. The next day I slept in later than normal. After my morning sickness I dressed in some running shorts and a sport's bra and went for a run for an hour.

"When I returned home I went upstairs and showered and dressed for the day. I headed back downstairs and headed into the study. I knocked and no one answered. So I went in and found him on the floor of his study; a huge hole in his head and blood and brain matter everywhere. I started panicking I called 911 and the police. I must have slipped into shock until the police arrived. When I came to I started heaving, trying to get air into my lungs and then my stomach started to cramp and it hurt like hell. One of the detectives saw my pain and called for an ambulance. I passed out before it got to the house. I woke up in a hospital. The doctor on call had told me that the shock of finding my father made me loose the baby.

"I flew into a rage when the police told me that they had ruled it a suicide, because of something my father was being investigated for. I swore I would get revenge."

"Revenge for what?"

"For what the bastard who killed my father took form me: my baby and my daddy."

"Did you get your revenge? Did you properly grieve for both?'

"I got my revenge, it took many years, but I got it a few months ago. I don't know about grieving. I don't know how." Tears now poured down Jenny's face and she buried her face in her arms and cried her heart out. The girl wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let her cry.

Once Jenny had shed all her tears she wiped them off her face and turned to her visitor.

"But that doesn't tell me who you are. Who are you?" She asked in her Director's Voice.

"I'm the baby you lost that day. I'm your daughter and I have chosen to be called Erin."


	2. Chapter 2

A Choice 2

Jenny stared at the girl in shock. Erin seemed to understand and smiled at her mother.

"Are you ready to begin you journey Mom?"

"Yes I am."

"Very well, get dressed and I'll take you to the people who want to speak to you. They each will choose the location. Your clothes are in the bathroom. They're casual. Jenny got up from the bed, not feeling any pain like when she first woke up. She went into the bathroom and found a pair of her favorite brand of jeans and a forest green button up long sleeve. She quickly and rejoined her daughter.

"Mom, you ready?"

"Let's get this show on the road."

Suddenly the white of the hospital faded and it was replaced with the brown of wood. Jenny found herself in her own study. But sitting at the desk was Erin.

"Okay here is how it works. I take you to the place your visitors chose to talk to in. Then I leave and they come. They talk to you then they leave. In order for you to move on you need to call my name. But take all the time you need to think about what they tell you. Then when you're ready, call my name and we'll go to your next destination. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Jenny replied.

"Then call for me when you're ready." And with that she was alone and her father walked through the door. Suddenly it was like Jenny was younger again and her father had returned from a business trip. Jenny ran to her father and threw her arms around him and sobbed onto his shoulder. Jasper Shepard's arms went around his daughter and held her tightly to him as he rocked back and forth on his feet.

"Baby girl, if you keep crying you're not going to hear what I need to tell you." Jasper felt his daughter nod her head and she pulled back wiping her eyes. He led her over to the couch and sat down. He pulled her down and pulled her into his side.

"I have so many things I want to tell you. But I want you to know that I love my granddaughter and you would be proud of her. I'm sorry you didn't get to raise her as a mother should. I want to tell you how proud I am of you. You are amazing, and I will always love you. Death has not stopped that." He kissed the side of her head and pulled her tighter.

"However, I wanted to tell you that I did in fact take my own life. Trent Kort had offered me the bribe. I didn't take it, but he got my bank information and made it look like I had taken the offer. He told me that 'the Frog' would make it go away if I did what they wanted. I refused point blank and told him if they wanted to fire me, they could, and I would spend more time with my daughters. Kort found out that your mother had your older sister and I had you. He threatened your life if I didn't do what he told me to.

"I was yelling at him the day before my death."

"I Heard you yelling at someone. I wanted to tell you that I was pregnant then. But I didn't want you to be mad at me and you seemed pretty much there."

"Then that night I sat in my study thinking. I could send you to your mother or get you into the dorms at your college. I was trying to keep you safe. But then I realized that he would find you anywhere and I couldn't make you go if you didn't want to. After all you were 21 years old, an adult. And you were stubborn as hell if you wanted to be. So I had two options left: do what he wanted or take myself out of the equation. I knew I couldn't do what he wanted me to do, because what he wanted me to do was so against all that I had fought for. So I chose to take myself out of the equation. I waited until you left on your run the next day and killed myself."

Jasper took a deep breath and looked down on his daughter and continued. "I never meant for you to take revenge. I never wanted you to deny yourself a chance at love. Yes I know about Paris and Jethro. I have a feeling that I would have liked him, had I met him in life, even though he dated my baby girl and was a Marine. I only did what I did to keep you safe.

"Now, if you chose to go back I have something for you. Under the floor in my study is a tape recorder that recorded all my conversations with Trent Kort and Rene Benoit. There are also letters to you, your sister and your mother. If you choose to go back find those things and do with them what you will."

"I love you Daddy." Jenny even sounded like a child.

"I love you too Baby Girl. I always have and I always will. I need to leave now. Think on what I said." With that he kissed her temple and stood up. He headed to the door and left. Tears once again poured down Jenny's cheeks.

She sat there for a large amount of time thinking on what her father said. Finally she realized she was thinking in circles.

"Erin, I'm ready now" She yelled and not even two seconds later Erin appeared before her. Jenny stood up and wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"So now you know what happened to Grandpa."

"Now I know. And I am mad that I did what I did. I never grieved for him or for you. I just went and got revenge."

"Ready for the next visitor?" Erin asked.

"Yes."

"Okay then. This next person chose a place you both have been in countless times. She was also a NCIS agent." With that the study disappeared and in its place was Ducky's Autopsy. She was alone until the whooshing of the doors signaled her next visitor.


	3. Chapter 3

A Choice 3

Jenny turned around at the sound of the doors. She found herself face-to-face with Agent Catilin "Kate" Todd. She looked just like she had when she died. She was still wearing the bullet proof vest. But there was no sign of the bullet hole in her head.

"Director Shepard." She acknowledges.

"Agent Todd." Jenny returns.

"Okay, I'm dead it's just Kate, no need for formalities."

"And because you never worked for me, it's Jenny."

"Did Ducky call you by your full name too?"

"Yes and he was the only person who didn't get cold-cocked for doing it."

"Director with an attitude. I like it. Now I am here because I had a question for you."

"Ask your question Kate."

"Okay shortly before my death we got a letter with Y. pestis. Tony opened it because it had a kiss on the back. He assumed it was for him because I was a female and Tim never really had a date. And he thought that Gibbs had never got a love letter. Gibbs asked if a 'Dear John' letter counted. Did you write that letter to him?"

"Yes. That's how I left him in Paris. I couldn't tell him I was leaving to his face. How did Jethro treat you?"

"Well I worked for Secret Service before NCIS and Gibbs offered me the job. He rarely head slapped me, only when me and Tony got really annoying. He treated me alright, but differently than Tony and Tim. I need to leave now."

She vanished and immediately Jenny called for Erin. When she appeared Jenny asked her a question.

"Who decided who I would speak to?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I was chosen to guide you and your father would speak first. But I think they chose who you spoke to themselves. You ready for the last stop?"

"I thought you said four people wanted to speak to me?"

"These next two will speak together. So are you ready?"

"Yes." The autopsy lab vanished and in its place was a park. Erin was once again gone. Jenny saw no one near her so she started walking. She came across a playground and two people. One was clearly an adult and a female. She sat on a bench watching the second person. The second person was also a female, but she was a kid. She was around ten years old, or so. She was running around the playground having fun, like a child should.

As she got closer she saw that both of them looked alike, mother and daughter. Both mother and daughter had red hair, though mom had a darker shade then the daughter. The closer she got the more details she could see. Next she saw that both of them had blue eyes. But when she looked at the daughters eyes, she didn't see her mother's blue eyes, she saw Jethro's eyes. And it was then that she realized who she was looking at. Shannon and Kelly Gibbs.

As soon as she thought the names, Shannon looked up. When she saw Jenny she nodded to her and patted the spot on the bench next to her. Jenny walked over and took the spot.

No one spoke for a while; both women just watched Kelly play. Finally Jenny spoke up.

"I don't know why you both are speaking to me, but I wanted you to know that I never wanted to take your place in Jethro's heart."

"Oh we both know that. You were the only one of his lover's and wannabe wives that didn't want to take our place. And for that we thank you. I also have to thank you for teaching him how to live life again."

They both lapsed into silence again until Jenny once again spoke up.

"You have a beautiful daughter."

"She was the light of both Jethro's and my life. I am sorry that Jethro didn't get to see his baby girl grow up. She always asks to see her dad. So now she has a couple pictures of him. And she can look at them whenever she wants to."

"I always wondered if there was a reason for why Jethro was so good with kids. And I always thought that he would make a great father. I watched him as an agent with the kids our cases sometimes involved and he always seemed to relate to them and they to him. They would talk to him, when they wouldn't tell their parents. I watched from the Catwalk as he bonded with Zach and how he cared for Carson."

"He was always good with kids. It was his one redeeming quality in my mother's eyes. She would watch him with Kelly when he was home and she would watch him with my younger cousins and the older cousins' kids."

At this point Kelly ran up to them. She leapt into Shannon's lap and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. She faced Jenny and smiled at her. Jenny smiled back.

"Do you know my Daddy?" Kelly asked.

"I do know your daddy, I know your daddy very well." Jenny told the little girl.

"Do you love my Daddy?" Kelly asked. Jenny hesitated before answering. She looked at Shannon and Shannon nodded that it was okay to answer.

"Yes I love your daddy. I love him with all my heart."

"Did Daddy talk about us and our deaths?" She continued.

"No he didn't. I think it was too painful for him to talk about with anyone."

"Then how do you know who we are?" She seemed confused.

"Well a couple of years ago someone hurt your dad very badly and he fell into a sleep so deep no one could wake him up. And when he did wake up he didn't remember anyone. The doctor thought that he didn't want to wake up or that he was reliving something bad that happened to him. I did a search of his medical records from the corps and found out that he was in another coma in 91. So we thought that this new injury brought him back to that trauma. But I knew that there had to be more, something else, so I went to his personnel records and found out that he was told of your deaths the day he was injured."

"So what happened once you knew about us?"

"Nothing. I still loved him and I understood what the nightmares he had in Paris were about."

"If you chose to go back will you still love my daddy?"

"I will always love your dad. If I die or if I live."

"But will you be with him?"

"I don't know Kelly. If it was up to me I would. But he might not like me for me leaving him years ago. But If I go back I will try to get him back. I promise you Kelly."

Kelly smiled and moved from her mother's lap over to Jenny's. "Good 'cause I think you would make him happy and I want him to be happy. And I want him to remember me and mommy and not be sad."

"Kelly, we need to go now. Miss Jenny needs to do some thinking." Shannon told her.

"Okay Mommy." Kelly gave Jenny a hug and climbed down from her lap. They vanished and Jenny sat and thought.

If she went back, she knew that she still loved Jethro. In fact; she loved him more now than she did when they were in Paris. She also knew that she couldn't take Shannon's place, and she didn't want to. She did want to make him happy, whatever that meant. She also knew that she had Kelly's blessing to be with Jethro and in a roundabout way: Shannon's blessing.

It was nice to know that the other women that Jethro loved, well the only one whose opinion mattered, didn't resent Her or Jethro for their love.

"Well. I now know what happened to my dad and I know that I want Jethro, even if that means not being Director. If I have to resign to be with him, then I will do it without a second thought. Erin!

Erin appeared before her. "So now you know more then you did."

"Yes what's next?"

"Do you want to stay here and die or go back and live? Or are you undecided?"

"If I go back, I know that I want Jethro back, but I also know that I will respect is wishes if he no longer wants me back, but it will kill me. And if I stay here I get to see my dad and you."

"Okay most people have made a choice at this point. So to help you make your decision I want you to tell me your three biggest regrets and what you would have done. Then I will either tell what would be at the time of the shooting or I would tell you."

"Biggest regrets would be: leaving Jethro, telling him no off the job when I returned and not killing Svetlana and hiding it from Jethro.

"Okay what would you do now about those regrets?"

"I would have told him that I couldn't kill Svetlana. And I would have talked to him about what happened to my father and how I wanted revenge; so I created my five-point plan, but I fell in love. Then when I returned as Director I would have said that we should get a friendship back, before a romantic relationship."

"Okay so I can tell you what would be for one of those the others I'll have to show you."

"Tell me Erin."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Jen refers to past Jenny.

A Choice 4

"Okay I'll tell you then show you. So if you told Jethro that you didn't kill Svetlana. As your boss he would have torn you a new one, but as your lover he would have fixed it. But you couldn't reconcile the fact that he was both your boss and your lover. You would start to doubt everything. You would have fled without leaving a note. And because of your self-doubt you would not have risen to the top of NCIS and you would never have seen Jethro again. Eventually you would have caught a really nasty flu strain and died."

"Wow okay so glad I didn't tell him I couldn't make the hit. What about the rest." Erin grabbed Jenny's hand and they were transported to the past. They landed in the small flat that Jenny and Jethro shared in Paris. They saw Jenny sitting down at a desk writing the letter.

"This is when I wrote the letter that said I was leaving him. Jethro went for a run and to grab some food for us."

Just then Jethro came in the door. He put the bag of food down and touched Jen's shoulder and kissed her cheek. He then sees the sheaf of papers with Jen's new orders.

"What are these Jen?"

"New orders for me. You are going back to the states and the rest of the team, while I will be stationed as a team leader in London."

"You got a promotion?"

"Yes Jethro I got a promotion. You sound excited."

"Because I am excited, Jen this is a big deal." He picked her up and spun her around.

Erin turned to look at Jenny and the picture faded.

"But what Happened?"

"You and Jethro try a long distance relationship. It seems to work, you come back to him when you can, but Ari still manages to infiltrate NCIS, he still takes Ducky, Kate and Gerald hostage. He still shoots Gerald and still shoots Jethro. However, his shot to Jethro is a fatal shot. Jethro holds on long enough to get you back to the states. He tells you that he will always love you, and dies. You are devastated and you leave NCIS. You become a drunk and die three years later of Alcohol poisoning.

"Damn. 0 for 2 now, next scenario please."

Erin took her hand again and they vanished; reappearing on the steps in the Bullpen of NCIS the day she first was called Director.

"Special Agent Gibbs! On the Job its Director or Ma'am."

"What about off the Job?"

"Jethro! Not now."

"When Jen, you like to run."

"After this case. After you catch this killer, Ari or not. I want you to have a clear head for this conversation."

"Jen, never going to happen. Just answer this one question for me: Do you want us back?"

"No I don't." Her right eye didn't twitch as she said this.

"Fine Director" And with that Jethro turned around and walked the rest of the way down the stairs.

Erin again grabbed Jenny's arm and they reappeared in the "hospital room" where Jenny had woken up.

"Jethro caught the killer. But he took a round to the gut before Ziva could shoot him. Ziva managed to get the shot. She killed her half-brother, but they could not save Jethro. He died two days later and was buried next to Shannon and Kelly."

"So by doing what I did, I gave us another chance. But how to take this chance and not waste it?"

"Well the obvious answer is to start by going back. You make the choice to live and you fight like Hell to survive. Then you tell Jethro that you love him, you want him. You regret that you had to leave him 9 years ago, but it worked out for the best." Erin grabbed Jenny's chin making sure Jenny meet her eyes.

"You tell him that you love him, that you never stopped. You kiss him like there's no tomorrow and tell him that you want him. You tell him what you want. Then you tell him about me, you give me somewhere to rest and you grieve for me. You let me move on." Erin dropped her hand and stood up.

"Think and make your choice then call me when you're ready." Erin turned around and left the room, leaving Jenny alone with her thoughts.

Jenny let her memories take her back in time. Back all the way to her childhood. Time ceased to have any meaning to NCIS Director Jennifer Shepard. She went from being little Jenny and Daddy's girl to the high school army brat to the college student to the Field Agent Shepard to the undercover operation in Paris to all her missions and cases in Europe and the Middle East and finally to Director Shepard of today. All manner of memories swamped her. The good, the blissful and joyful, the sad, the depressing, and the painful. Finally, the memories turned to what she learned in this place.

Her mind continued to ponder. And Jenny was content to let her mind work out what it needed to come to a decision. But this time instead of just letting her head make the choice. She let her heart have a say in the matter.

"Erin!" She called to the sky and her daughter appeared at the doorway.

"Have you made your choice?"

"Yes. I want to return to live and fight like Hell to survive."

"Very well. You will be returned to the point in which shots were fired. Fight. Make the right choices and never waste this second chance Mom. I will see you when it's your time to join us."

A bright white light overwhelmed Jenny's sight and she closed her eyes and waited for the dimness to fade away.

The dimness faded to pain. It lanced through her right shoulder and stomach. She could feel the blackness creeping into her mind, and she fought it, knowing that if she gave into the blackness she would never get her second chance. She wanted to stay awake. She rolled over onto her injured shoulder. Her weight pressed it into the floor and was like a compress, it stopped the bleeding. She felt Mike Franks kneel beside her and take her pulse. He must have felt one because he turned her over onto her back and pressed his hands to her wounds. She screamed out in pain.

"Hold on there, Shepard. Probie will kill me if anything happens to you. Just hold on tight."

Jenny fought like Hell. Soon the blackness was no longer black, but brown or something. Jenny knew that if she welcomed this new color she would live. So she closed her eyes and let it take her away.

Jenny first became aware of a constant beeping sound, right by her head. Next came the smell of disinfectant. Soon she felt the thin hospital sheets covering her. Her mouth felt dry. She then noticed a pressure on her hand. But her eyes didn't want to wake up. So she took a deep breath of air and noticed something, the smell of sawdust, coffee and bourbon. It was Jethro.

The thought that the man was sitting next to her gave her the strength to open her eyes. The bright light blinded her for a second. She blinked a couple times to clear her vision. She turned her head towards the beeping sound, it was a heartbeat monitor. She then turned her head the other way and saw Jethro's head leaned back against the wall next to her bed. His hand was covering hers.

_I hope this means that I might get another chance with him._ She thought to herself. She threaded her fingers through his and squeezed. When he remained asleep she brought his hand up to her lips and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand.

"Jethro." She called to him. He opened his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

A Choice

5

Last Chapter:

"_Jethro." She called to him. He opened his eyes._

Currently:

Jethro blinked sleep from his eyes as he stared at her. She gave him a weak smile and gripped his hand harder. She wanted to press another kiss to his hand, but without knowing what he wanted, she would refrain.

"How long was I out?" Jen asked the man sitting next to her. Her voice was rough from lack of water.

"Three days." Was his short reply. It was short and slightly curt. But that was Jethro's way; he didn't like to say anything more then was necessary. She nodded at him and took a deep breath.

"Do you know what happened?" She asked him. She wanted to know if he knew what was going on. He must of have thought that she didn't know what happened, because he looked at her weird before answering.

"You were asked to attend Decker's funeral. Someone at the funeral spooked you; you snapped a picture and sent it to Abby to ID. Decker's girlfriend gave you the address of his insurance policy, a Dinner out in the Desert. You ditched Dinozzo and Ziva, called Franks and drove out to the Dinner. People hired by Svetlana met up with you there and had a shootout. You were shot in the stomach once and the shoulder twice. The shoulder wounds were through-and-through's and did not cause much damage. The shot to your stomach nicked your liver and kidney. The surgeons did exploratory surgery to make sure nothing else was wrong and they patched up your nicks. You need to stay here for a few more days, so they can make sure you have no infections or other complications." He told her in a quiet monotone. When he was finished he moved to drop her hand and leave. But Jenny wasn't having it. She refused to let go of his hand and tugged him back down to sit on the bed.

"Jethro, I know what happened; I was asking if you knew. What happened to Svetlana?"

"I left the team here to watch you and me and Franks set up a sting for Svetlana. We lured her to your house and shot her. Her termination was complete, if a little late. Mike took her body out on a sail boat and dropped it in the middle of the ocean with some cinderblocks. Why did you do it Jen?"

"My entire adult life was about trying to get to a place where I could get justice for my father. But even so, it would mean nothing if you died. She was going after you, Jethro. I wasn't going to let you pay for a mistake that I made, when I didn't kill her in Paris, with your life." Jen told him simply.

"You went off on your own to protect me and clean up a mess that you made?" His tone was incredulous.

"Does that shock you Jethro?"

"One part doesn't but the other does."

"Which part doesn't surprise you?" Jenny asked him.

"The part that wanted to clean up your mess alone. You were always stubborn about that." He replied.

"So the fact that I wanted to protect you, shocks you; why Jethro?" She looked him dead in the eye, needing to not only hear the words but see his eyes when he answered.

"Because Agent Gibbs has pissed of Director Shepard a lot lately and I thought that Jenny no longer cared for Jethro, after I left while Carson was staying." He kept eye contact with her, but didn't read what emotions were flickering across her face.

"Right now, at this moment Jethro; Agent Gibbs and Director Shepard can go screw themselves in a quiet corner. Right here, right now its Jenny and Jethro. And I don't care for you; I love you." Now she didn't care what he thought, but she brought his hand up again and kissed it, letting her lips linger on his skin. "I have always loved you, and I don't plan on stopping, any time soon." Jen thought that she saw tears in his eyes, but he blinked and they were gone. He rested his forehead against hers and she let go of his hand to cup his cheek in her good hand. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Jethro spoke.

"I need to let someone know that your awake. Yet I don't want to leave." He whispered, having no need for a louder voice.

"Then use the call button Jethro. We need to talk, but maybe that can wait until the pain goes down a little." Jen whispered back. She felt Jethro lift his hand and press the button on the wall. Seconds later they heard footsteps approaching the room. Jethro lifted his head and turned to look at the nurse who came in.

"She's awake and in some pain." He told her bluntly. The nurse nodded and left to get the doctor. A few minutes later she returned with the doctor right on her heels. Jethro pulled back enough to sit on the chair, but he grabbed her hand again and he didn't let it go. The doctor and nurse did a cursory exam, not bothered a bit by the hands they still had clasped. The doctor ordered another bag of pain killers to be feed into her IV and left. The nurse wrote Jen's vital signs, what time it was and the dosage of pain killers, before hurrying out and grabbing said pain killers. She returned and hooked the medicine up to Jen's IV and the push button.

Jethro was about to push the button when Jen stopped him.

"Jethro, go back to the hotel, or wherever you're staying; take a shower, change your clothes, and get a few hours of sleep in a real bed. I'm not going anywhere." She pleaded with him.

"Not going to leave you alone, Jen. You're stuck with me."

"Call Ziva, because as much as I love you and I love having you here: sleeping in that chair is going to give you a stiff neck and you and your clothes are starting to stink. Stay with me until I fall asleep and Ziva gets here. I don't want you here for another three hours." She could tell that he still didn't want to leave. "Jethro, please don't make me make this an order." He nodded and pulled out his phone and pushed the button for the pain killers. Jenny started fading out and didn't hear his conversation, but she was aware of Ziva coming into the room and Jethro leaving. After that she dozed and fell asleep again.

She woke up again and found Ziva asleep on a chair on her injured side, her head was near her hip and Jethro was again on her good side. This time he was awake and staring at her. He had gone back to wherever he was staying and had showered, she could smell it, and had changed clothes. When he saw that she was awake, he moved from his chair over to the bed.

"Did you get any sleep?" She asked.

"Nope, too many nightmares. Came back here about an hour ago, Ziva was asleep when I came in."

Jenny reached her good hand cupped his cheek. "Nightmares about me?" She asked and he nodded. "Tell me about them."

"We couldn't save you. And I almost get shot by Svetlana, but Mike saves me. We then burn her body and your townhouse to make it look like you died there instead of in that Dinner in the middle of the desert. After your funeral, Vance is made Director and splits up the team. He sends McGee to Cyber, Tony becomes agent afloat and Ziva is sent back to Tel Aviv. Abby and Ducky are pissed and don't talk to me or anyone." He trailed off.

"None of that happened Jethro, I'm still here. And I'm not leaving. Now can you go get my doctor, I want to know what's going on and when I can get out of here." Jethro nodded and leaned down to kiss her cheek before leaning out the door to pass on her request. He came back into the room and woke Ziva. Ziva woke up at the same time the doctor came in. Both Ziva and Jethro left the room. Thought she did miss Jethro's hand in hers.

"Good afternoon, Director. I'm Doctor Abbit, I was the attending who performed your surgery. You were shot three times; the two shots to your shoulder caused minimal damage and should heal up just fine with no lasting muscle damage. The shot to your abdomen is what worried us; it nicked your liver and kidney. During surgery we were able to repair both nicks and retrieve part of the bullet. It is unclear whether it fractured inside your body and a piece is still in there, so we would like to set up an x-ray to check it out."

"Thank you Doctor. When can I get out of here and go home?" She asked politely.

"It depends on the X-ray results. If it's clear, I estimate about two more days in the hospital, before you can be discharged, but you would still have to wait a week to get on a plane to head back to DC. If the X-ray shows that a bullet frag is still in your abdomen then another surgery would be required and I would say that you could be home in a couple weeks."

"Well let's hope for the first option then. When can we get the X-ray done?"

"The techs went home so it'll be about 12 hours." He told her.

"Thank you Dr. Abbit. Can you Special Agent Gibbs and Officer David back in please?" She asked and he nodded and left the room. A couple minutes later and they came into her room. Ziva saw that she was awake and came over to give her one time partner and friend a hug.

"Where's the rest of the team?" She asked as she wrapped her good arm around the younger woman.

"At the motel getting ready to head back. We haven't told them that you're up yet, otherwise Abby would be going up the walls trying to see you." Ziva told her. She sat down in her chair on the injured side of her friend while Gibbs took.

"Ziva, you can tell them that I'm up. They can all come and visit tomorrow after my X-Ray. Right now I want to talk to Agent Gibbs. Go get some sleep in a real bed." She locked eyes and Ziva nodded and left, giving Jethro's shoulder a brief squeeze. Jethro watched her leave then turned his gaze back to Jen.

"It's time that I told you everything. I will tell the team, but I wanted to tell you first." She began. He nodded for her to continue and she took a deep breath.

"You're not the only one who's lost a Child Jethro."


	6. Chapter 6

A Choice 6

Previously:

"_You're not the only one who's lost a child Jethro."_

Currently:

"What do you mean Jen?" Now Gibbs was confused.

"About a month before I found my Father's body, I was at a college dorm party with my friends who lived in the dorms. I met this guy there. We both proceeded to get drunk off of cheap alcohol and we slept together without a condom. The week before his death I was feeling ill in the mornings, every morning for 5 days. So I went to a doctor and they took some blood. The next day they called me back into the office and the doctor told me that I was pregnant. This was a day before I found him. When I got home I went to my father's study and heard him arguing with someone on the phone. So I didn't disturb him. The next morning when I was finished puking I went out for a run to clear my head and decide what I wanted to do about the baby. When I got back, the house was quiet. I grabbed some toast and ate it on my way to the study. I knocked but he didn't answer, so I went in. I found his body; he or whoever shot him had waited until I wasn't in the house before they pulled the trigger. I was numb as I called the police, I was slipping into shock. I started hyperventilating and they called for a bus, I lost consciousness before the bus got there. When I came to, they told me that I lost the baby. That was the main reason for my revenge, though I thought it was justice, I wanted to kill whoever killed that totally innocent life, she wasn't even born yet." Tears sprung to her eyes and she let them fall, but she did turn her head away from Jethro, no need for him to see her cry.

Jethro sat there shocked, he was about to speak when she started talking again.

"I never grieved for my father or my daughter. I never told anyone about them, really. I dove myself into my studies in law. Then I joined NCIS, and you know the rest. Even when I told you about my father I never told you all of it. I've lived my life since that day pretending that she didn't exist, and by doing that I dishonored her and her memory." She started sobbing, her sobs wracked her tiny frame and jarred her shoulder, but she ignored the pain.

She felt the bed dip as more weight was pressed into it, but she didn't turn her head. Her head was turned for her. Jethro's hand cupped her cheek and brought her face to where he could look into her eyes. His other hand came up to cup the other cheek. His thumbs wiped away at her tears and he leaned his forehead against hers. She thought that she felt a couple of drops, that were not from her tears fall onto her, put she pushed that aside and used all her brain to cling to this comfort that he was offering her. She clung to it like it was her life vest in the middle of a storm. Soon her tears stopped flowing and still she didn't move her head.

Soon she let his head go and moved over, so her injured side was almost at the edge. She grabbed his hand and tugged him down. He leaned against the bed with her. He placed his head against her good shoulder. Soon they both fell asleep and the nurses on duty didn't have the heart to wake them.

Morning dawned bright and clear. Jenny woke up feeling more rested then she had in years. And it was all because of the man in the bad beside her. He was on his side, giving her more room in the bed, he had on arm under her head and the other across her waist, pulling her to him. She turned her head and watched him sleep. His face was relaxed and had less lines in sleep. She knew he rarely got a decent night's sleep, because if he slept at all then it was because he had passed out underneath his boat in his basement.

She brought her good hand up and started stroking his short silver hair. It felt just as soft now as it had in Paris and Europe. Eventually the motion of her hand in his hair brought him awake and out of slumber. He picked his head up and gave her one of his rare smiles. She smiled back and traced his nose and lips with her hand. When she finished tracing the outline of his lips with her pointer finger he kissed the pad.

He made to sit up and stretch, Jen avidly watched the way his muscles flexed and settled. He sat back up on the bed and moved her to where she now rested her head against his shoulder. She loved the new position and relaxed even further. He brought the hand of the arm she rested on to her hip where it stayed in a relaxed way. His other hand rested atop her stomach and she used her good hand to lightly trace up his arm and back down.

Their silence was the silence of those who have worked together for so many years that they did not need words. They both enjoyed immensely and to thank him she brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed the palm of his hand, letting her tongue come out briefly to caress his skin.

"Jethro what do you think can happen in the place between life and death?" She asked suddenly. She looked up to meet his eyes and was meet by a confused Jethro.

"What do you mean Jen?" He asked.

"Do you think that some people are given a chance to come back?"

"I do think that, because I was one of those people. I chose to come back." His voice was soft, but Jen could hear all the suppressed emotions behind it, and pulled his arm further around her.

"Do you think that those who are dead can help us with that choice; to fight to live or die?"

"I didn't have any help. Now tell me what's with this conversation?"

"I dreamed before I woke up yesterday. I woke up in this hospital like place. It was weird. While I was there I started wondering if it was like a processing stage where one had to weight their heart against a feather like in Egyptian Mythology. This girl interrupted my thoughts. She told me that I was her guide on my journey and that at the end of this journey, I had a choice to make. She told me that to help me I would speak to people who had influenced my life. When I understood that I asked who she was. She told me that she was my daughter, the one who died the same day as my father. I believed her; she looked just like me. From the hair, to the eyes to the way she held herself, it was me all over again.

"So she took me to my father's study, where I talked with my Father. HE told me about what happened at that he was proud of me. Then I spoke with Kate, in Autopsy. She only had one question for me; what it was like to work with you as a female. Then I went to a park and talked to Kelly and Shannon," She paused to take a breath and heard his deep intake of air.

"They both seemed fine. When I first saw them, Kelly was playing on a piece of playground equipment, being a kid. I told Shannon that I never wanted to take their place in your heart, and for that she said they were thankful. Kelly asked if I loved you, if I would be with you. She said she liked me and didn't mind us being together because it made you happy. I told her that I would always love you and that being together was up to you. After they left I started thinking. Hindsight really is 20/20. I knew in that instant that if I went back I would try my hardest to get you back, by whatever means I needed. If that meant stepping down as Director, so be it. But then came the thought of what if you no longer wanted me, if we burned that bridge during the case with Carson.

"If you no longer wanted me then, I would respect that and leave you alone. But if I tried so hard to get you back and I was faced with your rejection. Then I wouldn't be able to continue with life seeing you every day. So then that made think that I shouldn't even try, why risk it? I could stay and spend time with my father and get to know my daughter. When she returned to collect me, she felt that I needed more. So she showed me what might have happened, if certain things went differently, all of them ended with one or both of us dying. In that second I made my choice. I returned and fought to live, fought for you."


	7. Chapter 7

A Choice 7

Previously:

"_I returned and fought to live, fought for you."_

Currently:

The silence of the room became uncomfortable to Jenny after her confession. She waited with baited breath for his reaction. But she couldn't look at him. She felt him tense up, then slowly relax. But still she did not turn to look up at him.

Finally after not hearing a response she tilted her head up and looked at him. His face was clouded in thought. After a few more seconds his mouth started opening and closing with no sounds coming out. Jenny leaned her forehead against his.

"I came back because I love you and I want another chance with you; even if I have to step down as Director. I want you, not that job. I wanted that job to get my revenge." He finally seemed to find he voice.

"Jen, don't give up your job just for me."

"Okay, not just for you then. I told you that the only reason I wanted this job was so I could be in a powerful position to avenge my father's death. I didn't want the job, because I was good at politics. I didn't want the job because I am a feminist. I wanted the job for revenge. I don't want revenge anymore, I want to grieve and move on. I want love and lustful passion back in my life, not rage and hate."

"What would you do Jen?"

"I recently secured more funding for the Agency; enough to create another MCRT team in the building. Your team is constantly overworked and very little down time. Now I know that you like that, Jethro, but your team needs the down time. I have never mentioned this because I was searching for the prefect person who could lead that team, solve the cases and get along with you. But I think that job should be for me. You know I can handle myself in the field to solve the cases we see every day, and you know that if I can lead the entire agency, I can lead a team of three others. And of course I get along with you; I can put up with your crap and general bastard-ness, and I won't be controlled by you. Leon Vance can become the Director. I just want there to be an "_us"_ again." Jen took a deep breath and was about to start speaking again when a pair of lips stopped her.

Jethro had never really been good with words, but he was quite eloquent with his actions. So he let his actions speak his answer by lowering his lips over hers in a sweet kiss. His body was supported by his knees and elbows and partially covered Jen's good side and her good hand had wound its way around his neck and held his face to hers.

Both were conscious of Jen's wounds and didn't deepen the kiss further. They still continued kissing until Jen started to run out of air. She let go of Jethro's neck and his lips. She took in shuddering gasps of air and rested her forehead against his once again.

"I'll take that as a 'you want me too' kiss" Jen panted in his ear. "I love you Jethro." She told him in a stronger voice.

"I know you do. And no that kiss is no a 'you want me too' kiss, it's an 'I love you with all my heart' kiss. I know that I'm not good with words; I like to let my actions speak for me. But in this case I think I need to speak. I was hurt when you left, but I realized that our true love would have been overshadowed by the doubt of the mission. We wouldn't be able to tell when we were adding to our cover or actually being truthful to the real us. I realized this after my divorce from Stephanie; but I didn't marry Stephanie because I didn't love you, I married her to try and get over you. Like what I did when I married Diane. It didn't work. I want you and only you. So let's get you well and get you home, then we can talk about the future."

As he finished talking a nurse came into the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this, but we need to get the Director into X-Ray. Are you ready Director?" The nurse asked.

Both Jen and Jethro looked up and Jethro hopped off the bed; he stood next to the bed and his hand held her good hand and laced their fingers together. Jen smiled at him before turning back to the nurse and nodding her head.

"Let's make sure I'm frag free, shall we?" She told the nurse. The nurse smiled at Jenny and poked her head out and came back in followed by two men who started to push the bed out the door.

The nurse turned to Jethro. "You are more than welcome to walk with her Agent Gibbs, but when we get to the room you'll need to wait outside."

"Thank you." Was all Jethro said but he gave her a smirk and caught up the bed and grabbed Jen's hand again. He walked along the hallway with her and they all got in the elevator. He leaned down over the railing and kissed Jen and when he pulled back she gave him a sweet smile. He walked with her along the hallway and kissed her once more before letting go of her hand and sitting outside of the room.

About 45 minutes later the nurse came out and said that they were getting ready to head back down to the room. They wheeled Jen out of the room and Jethro once again grabbed her hand. Back in the elevator Jethro once again leaned over the railing, but instead of kissing her; he just moved her hair out of her eyes and they held a silent conversation. Each of them read the love for the other in their partner's eyes. And each read apprehension for the results of the X-Ray, both wanted to get out of the hospital and go home. They arrive back in Jen's room and they sit and wait for the doctor to get back.

Twenty minutes later Dr. Abbit came back in the room with Jenny's X-Rays in an envelope. He popped the films onto the light box on the wall near Jethro's chair and turned the light box on. "Well it looks like we were able to remove all fragments of both the bullet and bone. So you should be out of here in three days and clear to fly in about six days." He turned to the people in the room with a smile on his face as he turned the box off and placed the film back inside the envelope.

"Your shoulder and abdomen will be very sore for the first few days of no painkillers. And I don't want you back at work for at least half-way through your Physical Therapy session, but go by whatever your PT says. I'll have more instructions for you when we discharge you. Any questions for me?"

"When can I get out of bed and start walking around?" Jethro and the doctor could tell that she wanted out of the bed.

"I say tomorrow, give your body a couple extra hours with the heavier pain killers."

"Thank you dr." Jethro told him. The doctor nodded and left the room.

Jethro watched the doctor leave then sat down on the bed and Jen laid her head down on his shoulder, much like this morning. Jen gave a content sigh and snuggled deeper into his embrace.

"How's the pain Jen?" Jethro asked her as his hand started stroking her hair, letting his fingers slide through the soft locks of her flaming red hair.

"Not too bad, I would have you press the button but I want to be awake when the team gets here. Call them for me Jethro?" She asked, picking up her head to look into his eyes. He leaned in and kissed her and she kissed him back. After a few minutes she let her tongue trace the shape of his lips as she asked for entry into his mouth. Instead of opening his mouth to her he moved his mouth down to her throat and sucked and nibbled on her pulse point. So Jen leaned over and repaid the favor to his neck. They both knew that they would leave love bites on the other, but neither cared.

After a long while they both let go of the other's neck and moved back to taste the other's lips. And this time it was Jethro's tongue seeking entrance to Jen's mouth. She let him in and let him probe her mouth before sliding her tongue around his and let it explore his mouth. Air became needed and they broke off the kiss and leaned their foreheads together, letting their noses touch each other. He moved his head and settled back down on the bed and pulled her closer to him, she snuggled into his warmth and laid her head down on his chest and used her bad arm to hold his hand over her stomach, a move that only slightly hurt her injured arm.

Jethro used his free hand to fish his cell phone from his jean's pocket. He dialed a number and waited until they answered.

"Hey Ziva, where are you guys?" he moved the phone to where Jen could hear.

"_Waiting for your call Gibbs. Abby is very impatient to see you and the Director."_

"Well you guys can come over and visit. Mike go back to Mexico?"

"_Yes he did and we are on our way we'll be there in about 20. Bye."_ Ziva hung up the phone and so did Jethro.

"Should I move?"

"No you will stay right there. I have no qualms about hiding us from the children. Do you want them to know?" She turned the tables on him.

"Jenny I want the world to know that you are mine. So yes the team can know." He told her before he closed his lips over hers once more. She smiled against his lips, grateful for her second chance.


	8. Chapter 8

A Choice 8

20 minutes later a nurse came through the door.

"Sorry to interrupt but there is a group of people waiting to see you in the lobby and we wanted to know if you're up for some company or if I should tell them to come back later?" She asked.

"I'm up for company, thank you." Jen told the nurse who nodded and left. She turned to look up at Jethro and he noticed she had a mischievous smirk playing on her lips. "How about we show them us instead of telling them?"

"Well what more can we do? I am lying in your bed with your head on my chest and our fingers laced. . ." he trailed off and realized what she wanted to do. "You sure, Jen?" She just smiled in response and lifted her head off of his chest and kissed him. Jethro kissed her back and let her deepen the kiss. Soon they both lost track of where they were in reality only paying attention to the feel of the other's lips pressed against their own. Jen wanted desperately to straddle his waist as she kissed him. But because she was injured she refrained; instead she snaked her good arm up under his shirt to feel his bare chest against her palm.

A cough penetrated through to their ears and they broke off the kiss to see the team with Abby and Ducky in the doorway. Jethro got up off the bed to let the others hug her on her good side, he moved around to the other side of the bed and gently moved her bad arm off her stomach and laced their fingers together.

Ziva was the first to step up to her. Ziva bent down and gave Jenny a light hug.

"Welcome bag Jen, Shalom."

"Shalom Ziva, it's good to be back." Jenny replied.

Ziva walked over to the other side and squeezed Jethro's shoulder and leaned against the wall. Abby walked over to Jen next and gave her a light hug as well, and Jen found that she missed Abby's death grip hugs.

"Please don't scare me like that again, mommy." Her voice shook with fear and relief. Jen wrapped her good arm around Abby and hugged her as tight as she good. They both released the other and Abby went over to Jethro and enveloped him in her normal hug. Jethro let Abby take his spot holding Jen's hand.

"Abby, I can't promise to never get hurt, that's part of the job. But I can promise not to do anything stupid again." Jenny told the Goth as Ducky approached.

"It warms my heart to see you awake Jennifer. We were all worried for you, my dear." He leaned down and kissed her cheek he moved back and leaned against the window near Ziva. Tony came up and kissed her cheek, but he didn't say anything. Tim came up next and followed Tony's lead. They both moved off and hovered near the door. Jethro came back around to Jen's good side and resumed his place on her bed with her head on his chest. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Silence overcame the room and they all stared at the 2 people in the bed. Ducky broke the silence.

"How long until you are home Jennifer?"

"I should be released from the hospital within three days, then another three days until I am cleared to fly home."

"And how long after that until you are back as Director?" Tim asked.

"Umm, that depends upon how well I heal and do in Physical Therapy." She left off the fact that if she returned it would not be as Director but as a team leader. Silence again descended over the room. Abby started fidgeting in her seat until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Umm are you two together now?"

"I don't know. Are we Jethro?" she teased him and then kissed him again, but they kept this one short and sweet. She turned back to Abby and smiled at her as she nodded a "yes" to her question. Abby squealed and gave them both another hug. The rest of the room chuckled and said their "congratulations" to the happy, new couple. Both Jen and Jethro could see Tony's mind working. He was probably trying to figure out who won which betting pool. The atmosphere in the room relaxed and they all chatted about stuff that seemed unimportant before the events of the last few days.

Soon however the talk turned serious again as Jenny told everyone why she did what she did. She asked Ziva and Tony for forgiveness and they both gave it to her, understanding that she didn't want anything to happen to them. Finally Jen took a deep breath and told everyone the real truth as to why she wanted to get revenge. After she told everyone that she lost her baby when she found her father's body Abby and tears streaming down her face, Ziva's eyes were misty as were the boys. Ducky had a few tears falling down his cheeks and everyone gave her another hug.

They continued to talk until a nurse came to tell them that visiting hours were over.

"Guys, Thank you for coming to visit me, but I want you all to head home. You can't help get out of here faster and you all have work to catch up on at home. Leon Vance is Director until I return. Go home guys." Jenny told them all, expecting to hear some resistance.

Tony and Tim both nodded. Ziva stared at Jenny for a few moments before also nodding. Ducky looked at both Jenny and Jethro before nodding, telling him to call if needed. That left Abby, who looked as though she was going to protest. Jethro spoke up before Jenny could.

"Abs, you being here is not going to help her heal any faster. Mommy knows you love her. Jenny is right you guys have work to do back home. Now go do it. We'll be home in a week." Jethro told her and Abby stared at him, trying to find some loophole, but soon she gave up and nodded too. They all left and headed back to the hotel before finding a flight home in the morning.

Jethro slipped further down the bed and let Jen snuggle up next to him. He pressed the button for her pain killers and watched her fall asleep in his arms. He watched her for a while, thanking whoever was above that she got her second chance, and that she chose him. Eventually he let sleep take him. They both dreamed good dreams that night; dreams of their future together.

A happy future together.


	9. Chapter 9

A Choice 9

The next morning Jenny got out of bed with Jethro's help and used the bathroom. She was able to walk back to the bed on her own, but she didn't lie back down immediately. She pulled out her cellphone form her bag of belongings on the table at the foot of the bed. She found the number she was looking for and dialed. She bit her lip as she waited for someone to answer.

"_Secretary of the Navy's office, how may I assist you?"_

"Beth, it's me Jenny Shepard. Can you patch me through?"

"_Of course Director Shepard, He's been waiting for you to call. Hang on one second."_

There was a pause as Beth place her on hold.

"_Jenny, how are you?" _Her boss asked in a solicitous voice.

"I'm a little sore, but nothing I can't handle, sir."

"_To what do I owe this call?"_

"I wanted to speak with you sir, in person. And I wanted to do that before I returned to DC in 5 days."

"_I can be out there tomorrow, will that work?"_

"Yes sir. Bring Vance with you, please. All three of us need to talk, immediately."

"_Very well Jenny, I'll see you tomorrow."_ And with that her boss hung up on her. She turned her attention to her lover who was sitting on the bed.

"We need to talk. Can we go outside?" She asked him and he nodded and grabbed the wheelchair the nurse brought into the room that morning, telling the room's 2 occupants that they should go outside and get some fresh air at some point.

Jethro wheeled Jen past the nurses' station and out into the courtyard. He stopped and let Jen get out of the wheelchair and moved to walk beside her as she used the handles on the back of the chair to support her weight as they made their way to a bench near a fountain. He sat down on the bench resting he back against the edge of the fountain. Jen sat down on the chair in front of him.

"Jethro, I know that you don't want me to give up the Director's position for you, but I want you to know that I will. Tomorrow, I plan on telling SecNav and Vance everything about the last few years. I will tell them that I am in a relationship with you, and if both of them don't like that then I will tell them that I won't be Director. I will tell them of my idea to lead the other MCR team that we created and that Vance can have the Director's chair. However even if they are fine with my relationship, I don't see me staying Director for long, I no longer want the job. You were right, I miss being a field agent."

"Jen, I love you. No matter what you do for a living. Just make sure that this is what you want, and I'll support you 100%. I only want you to be happy Jen." He leaned forward and cupped her cheeks in both of his hands.

"This will make me happier, I do love being Director, but I just want to be with you without having to hide our relationship. I too want the world to know that I am happy and I have the man I love beside me." Jethro picked her up and held her in his lap as he kissed every piece of skin he could reach. She laughed and held onto his head with her good arm. They sat in silence, stealing kisses from each other, for another hour. Then they headed back inside, maintaining some form of contact with the other.

When they got back to the room they saw that there was a bigger bed in the room, big enough for the two of them to sleep comfortably.

"Jethro when we get back, where will we stay?" She asked as they lay down in the bed.

"I was thinking about that. I don't want to force you to live in a house where someone died, but I don't want to force you to live in my house if you don't want to."

"Do you want to finish your current boat or start fresh? Because if you want we can sell our houses and buy a new one together." Jen was nervous about asking him to live together, but she knew that she couldn't sleep without him in the same bed as her anymore.

"Jen you sure you want to jump from no relationship to living together?"

"Yes Jethro, I'm sure. I don't ever want to sleep in a bed alone again. I want to live with you."

"Good, because I want to fall asleep next to you and wake up next to you every morning too. We can stay at your place until we find a place of our own."

Jen smiled at him and kissed him swiftly. "God I love you." She told him before kissing him again. They spent the rest of the day switching between napping and talking about what kind of house they wanted. Jen made a list on her Blackberry and saved it. She started to nap again and Jethro stepped out to get coffee and picked up a few magazines for Jen to read. He grabbed his suitcase out from his car and showered in Jen's room. They fell asleep that night in the bigger bed, more comfortable than the previous nights.

The next morning Jen walked to the bathroom by herself and walked around the room. The doctor came in and checked her and told her that she would be discharged if her blood work came back clean, later that afternoon. He took her blood again and left. A few minutes later a nurse came into the room with a sling, her shoulder needed to be immobilized for a few more days until she could get to a PT's office for an appointment. She put the sling on without a protest, she may hate hospitals but she would follow the doctor's instructions to avoid having to return because of preventable complications. She continued to pace until Jethro walked back into the room with two cups of coffee from Starbucks. He handed one to her. She took it with a grateful smile and gave him a kiss before taking a sip of the magic brew. They spent the morning lounging in the bed, drinking their coffee and stealing kisses. Jethro stepped out to buy them lunch and came back with some soup for her and a sandwich for him.

The soup was light and easy on her stomach and it tasted semi-decent. About an hour after lunch Jen was about to take a short nap, when the two people she needed to see walked through the door. Philip Davenport, Secretary of the United States Navy and Marine Corps looked dashing in his uniform and Leon Vance looked good in his plain black shirt, though he could take the toothpick out of his mouth.

"Jenny, you are looking well." Her boss greeted her. Jen nodded and gave a slight smile and shook his hand. He then turned his attention to Jethro, who was standing by the head of her bed holding her hand. Which SecNav ignored or did not notice.

"Special Agent Gibbs, I thought your team went home?" SecNav inquired politely.

"They did, I didn't." Jethro's tone was crisp, like a Marine reporting to his CO.

"Very dedicated Agent Gibbs."

"Sir?"

"You are very dedicated to your job to stay with your boss."

"Not my boss." Jethro's voice was becoming smug. Jen tugged at his hand and silently told him to shut up and behave. She turned her attention to her boss.

"Jethro was trying to tell you that he's not here because I'm his boss."

"Then why is he here and not with his team in DC?" Vance finally opened his mouth. He attempted to answer his own question. "He's here because he used to be your boss and partner. Very chivalrous of you Agent Gibbs." He sounded so sure of himself.

"No, Leon, he is here because he is my partner, present tense, not past tense." Jen told him, barely keeping the contempt out of her voice. Sometimes the man infuriated her.

"Jen, the director doesn't have a partner, unless it's the Assistant Director or you're Assistant." This time it was SecNav who spoke up. He sounded confused.

"Not a professional partner, a personal partner, sir." Jen told her boss, trying to hold in her laughter; sometimes men were dim. However the confusion lifted from their faces. A slight frown now graced her boss' face and a scowl was on Vance's face.

"Why couldn't you have used the terms boyfriend or lover? Partner is too confusing, given our line of work."

"Sir we didn't use the term boyfriend because A- it's a very high school term, and B- because it would lower the truth of the relationship in our eyes. As to why we didn't use the term lover; we didn't want to use a term that might offend you or Vance, that and we haven't had sex, this time."

Only one phrase seemed to register with Vance. "What do you mean 'this time"?" Both Jen and Jethro shared a look and went to answer the question, but SecNav beat them to it.

"During the Paris Op 9 or so years or so, both of them were undercover as a married couple. Towards the end they were a couple and the only thing they were pretending was the fact that they were married. Jenny left when she got the opportunity to lead her own team and Agent Gibbs returned to lead the MCRT." Jen and Jethro had no idea that their boss knew about their affair in Paris and shared a look. SecNav saw the look and a small grin crossed his face. "Yes I knew about the affair in Paris. And I also know that you did not renew the affair when she returned as Director. So I am assuming that this near death experience triggered the renewal of your relationship?"

"Yes sir. Will that be a problem?" Jen asked.

"Well, while I am glad that you told me . . . I cannot condone a relationship between you and Agent Gibbs, Director." The frown was back. He almost seemed sorry to tell them this though.

"Are you of the same opinion, Vance?" Jenny asked.

"You know that is my opinion as well, Director." Vance's face deepened further in a scowl and his voice had a thinly veiled sneer.

"Very well. What is your course of action, sir?" Jenny addressed her boss once more.

"Well I could order you to disband the relationship, but you won't do that, and if I found out about your relationship, then I would be forced to fire you. But I don't want to fire you."

"Well sir I can tell you right now that I will not choose my job over the love of my life, I made that mistake once, sir, and I won't repeat it. But maybe I have an alternative. . ." She trailed off slightly uncertain that the two men in the room would go for it.

"What is it?" Vance asked, cutting off his boss, who looked annoyed at Vance.

"We recently have received funding for another MCRT in the building, which you already know. I have been trying to find someone to lead this team, but have been unsuccessful so far. What if I step down from the Director's chair and take the lead on that team and Vance becomes the Director of NCIS. I get to move to a job I want to actually do, I'm a little tired of paperwork and ops in MTAC at all hours of the day and night, and Vance moves up in the world and you don't cause as big a media frenzy then you would have if you fired me. You'll still have to deal with the media, but it won't be as bad." Both men considered the situation carefully and from all foreseeable angles.

"I like the idea, but how does that change the relationship aspect?" Vance asked.

"We have no rule, agency wide, about dating someone who is your equal. And if I take control of the new Team, I will be the same rank as Jethro. Not higher than him or lower than him. Therefor I can have a relationship with him." Jen sneered at Vance, sometimes he was so dim.

"Very well. As of next week Vance is Director of NCIS. The announcement will be made in house when you return, then to the media. I want you to brief Vance on anything he needs to know about any on-going ops."

"There are none sir. I didn't think that I would live, so I shifted all ops. The files are on their way to Vance here at the LA office, sir. I wanted him to know everything he needed to if I died, which is what I thought was going to happen when I saw Svetlana after Decker's funeral. So I had Cynthia shift everything and send all the pertinent files out here to Vance, they should be here soon if not now."

"Very well then, this will help make the transition as smooth as possible. Vance check your office for the files."

"Yes it will sir." Jenny told him. at the same time Vance answered with a "Yes Sir."

"See you both in DC next week." SecNav told them and left the room. Vance just nodded before following, until he reached the door.

"Leon, wait." Jen asked him, before turning to Jethro. "Jethro can you get me some more coffee please?"

"Sure Jen, I'll be back in 10." He left the room. But he knew that she wanted to talk to Vance about something that he didn't need to know about.

"I know we discussed the mole in NCIS and you want to have Jethro investigate, but that's not going to happen, the way you suggested it. I've placed the three suspected agents on my team. I will handle the investigation with Jethro's full knowledge from the beginning. I will not have you split up his team."

"But you even said that Jethro's the best at what he does?" Vance asked confused by her statement.

"He's the best at training Probie Agents. But the whole reason why he has the highest solve rate is because of his team, which he treats like a family, as well as his infamous gut. That and that family will never believe that I spilt up the team, they will blame you no matter what I say about the matter. I don't want you to have to deal with a distraught Abby if the team is split up. She is one of the few people in the world who can kill you and leave no evidence."

"Very well Jenny. We will go on like this instead of as planned. Goodbye. See you in DC." And Vance once again left the room.

Now she just needed to plan the next step.


	10. Chapter 10

A Choice 10

Jenny was released from the hospital that afternoon, with instructions to take it easy and to find a PT in DC to handle the rehab she would need on her shoulder. Jen and Jethro spent the day relaxing by the pool at the hotel they were staying at for three days, before they would fly home. Jen lunged about in a chair, just enjoying the sunshine after the days she spent cooped up in the hospital. Jethro enjoyed watching Jen in her bathing suite, a white two piece that showed a lot of skin. He himself started swimming laps in the pool, enjoying the exercise as well as the coolness of the water on his skin.

They stayed at the pool until the sunset. Then they each dressed in casual summer clothes and walked along downtown, looking for a restaurant, holding hands. They found a quiet dinner and they ordered a burger with fries and a salad. When the food was delivered they both ate with gusto, starving. The food was very good and they tipped their waiter generously, though he did get a glare from Jethro for staring at Jen. They walked back to the hotel and went to their room. Jethro hopped in the shower and Jen pulled out her phone and called Cynthia.

"Cynthia, It's Jen." She told her assistant once she picked up her phone.

"_Director, I heard that you were discharged from the hospital, I'm glad. Did you need anything?"_

"Thank you Cynthia. I just wanted you to know before everyone else that I am stepping down as Director and taking the new MCR Team's lead agent spot we have created."

"_Who would be Director then?"_

"Leon Vance, will take over as Director and I wish him luck. I wanted to ask you to ask your realtor cousin if she could look out for some property for me. I'll email you the list as it stands tomorrow morning." She told her faithful assistant. She hoped Vance treated her right.

"_I can certainly do that for you, Director. Are you looking for a new house?"_

"As I am sure Jethro's team has told you: Jethro and I are in a relationship and we are in fact searching for a house together. Though I don't want you to tell the team yet. Think you can manage that for me?"

"_Of Course Director, I'll have my cousin call you when you get back into DC."_ At that moment Jethro came back into the room.

"Thank you Cynthia. Could you please start grabbing some boxes and start packing up my office for me, but please be discreate?"

"_Of course Director. I'll see you and Agent Gibbs when you both return to DC. I will miss working for you."_

"Thank you Cynthia and I will miss having you work with me too." Jen hung up the phone and turned to watch Jethro finish changing into his sleep pants for the night. Jen walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth, having taken a shower shortly before she was discharged earlier. She came back into the room and removed the pair of shorts she had on as well as her top and bra. She slipped Jethro's shirt that he was wearing earlier over her head. She crawled into bed with him and snuggled into his side.

"We'll need to go and by some bandages to re-bandage me after my shower tomorrow." She told him as she traced circles on his bare chest with her injured arm, free of its sling for the night.

"You got it Jen. I am going to have Tony and the rest of the team start dropping boxes off at my house tomorrow so I can start packing." He told her running his hands up and down her back.

"Okay and I have Cynthia telling her cousin to start looking for houses, I'm emailing Cynthia the list we started so tomorrow we'll go over it more to find out if we want more."

"Okay, but in order to so those things we need sleep. Good night Jenny, I love you."

"Good night Jethro, I love you too."

They both drifted off to sleep, a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Jethro woke up early. He slid silently out of the bed; wanting to let Jen sleep some more. He dressed silently and left the room. He drove to nearby Wal-Greens and purchased some bandages to wrap Jen's wounds and some sunscreen for the rest of the trip. He walked out and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Dinozzo's desk.

"NCIS Special Agent Dinozzo's desk." Michelle Lee's voice came over the line.

"Agent Lee, where is Dinozzo?" Gibbs barked.

"Agent Gibbs. Tony is down in Abby's lab. As is the rest of the team and I think Ducky is too, sir."

"Tell him to call me when you see him, I have to get back to Jen." He hung up without waiting for a reply. He drove back to the hotel and entered the room just as Jen was walking up. She got out of bed and moved towards him stretching as she walked, his shirt riding up as she did so.

"Good Morning. Where did you vanish to this morning?" She asked him leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.

"I ran to buy some bandages for you shoulder and stomach. I also bought some sunscreen." He said wrapping his arms around her hips slowly to avoid hitting her wound. She rested her head on his chest, loving the feeling of his arms around her.

"You're so sweet." She mumbled into his chest, she felt his chuckle reverberate through her head. She smiled as she pulled away. Grabbing the wrist holding onto the bag he pulled him into the bathroom where she stripped off her clothes and the bandages on her front while Jethro also stripped out of his clothes and peeled the bandages off her back. She turned on the water and stepped under the spray, pulling Jethro in with her.

He shampooed her hair, so she didn't have to lift her bad arm and then massaged her scalp as he conditioned her hair. He grabbed one of the washcloths and paid special attention to the exit wounds on her back, the wounds were all closed and without stitches, but they looked red and angry as well as slightly puffy. Once he was done washing her wounds she took over and finished washing her body as he stepped under the spray and washed himself.

Once they were all finished they stood under the spray and kissed each other passionately, and Jethro moved her against the wall. Jenny left her bad arm on his lower half, resting on his butt and pulling him closer to her; while her good arm held his face to hers. Jethro's hands were against her lower back and one meandered up her back and tangled in her hair.

Once they both felt dizzy they broke for air, resting their foreheads together. Jethro reached behind him and turned off the now cold water while Jen reached her good arm out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She wrapped the towel around herself and stepped out of the shower and grabbed another towel for Jethro. He wrapped his towel around himself and walked into the other room to get dressed. Once he finished he returned to the bathroom and finds her pulling up her panties with one hand. He moves to help her with the other side, kissing the skin of her shoulder as he did so.

"You know, I thought that I would help you out of your clothes, not into them." He remarked making her laugh. She has him fasten her bra for her before she slips on pair of black yoga pants. Jethro grabs the bag off of the floor and reaches in for the box of gauze and medical tape and tapes up the exit wounds on Jenny's back then helps her with the shoulder entry wound and she does the stomach herself. She then pulls a simple green shirt over her head with Jethro's help getting her bum arm through the sleeve. She brushed her hair out but left it down to let the air dry her hair. She left her face alone, not putting any make-up on. She then slipped her feet into the flip-flops they bought once she was released from the hospital the previous day. Before they walked out the door she pulled her sling on and let him take her good hand, threading their fingers together.

A/N: so this story will only have about 15 or 16 chapters and I wanted to know as I post this chapter: Should I have Jibblets? Let me know what you guys think. I could really go both ways for this.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I realized that I've never said which shoulder is injured and in my mind her left side is injured, both stomach and shoulder.

A Choice 11

Three days later Jen and Jethro stood in the airport hand in hand waiting in line to board their flight back to DC. Jethro had called his team to tell them to come pick them up and Tony told him that his house had been mostly packed up, only his basement and bedroom remained the team felt that he should pack up those two rooms himself. He thanked his Senior Field Agent and hung up the phone, pulling Jenny closer to his side; she went willingly and laid her head on his shoulder, wrapping her own arm, the good one, around his waist.

"The team will pick us up at the airport. Tony and the rest of my team have the majority of my house packed up. I'll need to pack all of my clothes and the stuff in the basement before moving into your house while we hunt for a new place." He let her know.

"Cynthia has my office packed up and everything waiting behind her desk. She said that her cousin had a few properties that matched our criteria and we could go with her to see them whenever we wanted to. I also have an appointment with a Physical Therapist for a few days after we return. I was thinking that we all, the team with Abby and Ducky go out to diner when they pick us up and we have Cynthia join us and we tell them we're finding a new house and that I am stepping down as Director. I want the 'family' to know before everyone else."

"When are we telling the rest of the agency about the change in leadership again?" he asked trying to put a plan for their return together.

"Two days. I won't be going into work until then, and neither will you." She trailed off, suggestively.

"Oh really? And what will I be doing instead?" He asked her, teasing.

"Well you said that you needed to pack up your clothes, so we can do that as well as start looking at the houses or at least the digital information, if we can't actually get there in person. And you need to decide what to do about your boat and all of your other stuff you have stored in the basement. Plus I want you to myself for our first full day back in DC as a couple." She told him. Swinging their joined hands between them as they waited in line to board the plane.

"Well I know that the current boat is going to go, and should have gone a long time ago. And most of that stuff is what Diane got rid of when she redesigned that house after we were married. So it has both memories of Diane and Shannon; so I don't know how much of it I'm keeping. The rest of the pictures and some small things I want to keep, but the rest can go to charity." He said as they stepped up to the desk and gave the attendant behind it there ticket information as well as flashing their badges. Jen's hand gripped his tightly as they made their way onto the plane and found their seats. Jethro stayed standing as Jen sat down, while he placed their carry-ons above their seat. After he finished he joined her, sitting in the middle seat and letting her have the window seat. They sat in a comfortable silence as the rest of the passengers boarded the plane. Jen broke the silence a few minutes later.

"Jethro, can we switch seats?" She asked looking at him.

"Sure, why?" He asked already standing up. So she stood up too and let him slid past her to the window seat, and she took the middle seat. Once she sat down she pulled up the armrest between them and scooted as close as she could and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Because in the other seat I couldn't do this. And this way I can cuddle with you and look out the window without leaning on my injured side." She sagely told him, feeling his left arm wrap around her waist, resting his hand carefully on her hip. She snuggled deeper into his embrace and fell asleep as they waited for takeoff.

Jethro let her sleep; only moving her to buckle up her seatbelt when the light came on. Once they were safely in the air and the passengers could move about the cabin he reclined both their seats and asked a passing Flight Attendant if they had a blanket he could use. The Flight Attendant smiled and nodded before moving further up the plane before returning with a folded up blanket, which she handed to him. He smirked and nodded his thanks, before opening the blanket and covering himself and Jen with it. Once the blanket was settled around them he kissed Jen's forehead then let himself relax and soon he too was asleep.

They slept peacefully until the same Flight Attendant came back through the isle with the drink cart. They both wake up at the sound of soft talking of the passengers and Flight Attendants around them, passing out soda and a small snack. They both sat up and replaced the arm rest between them. Both of them started rolling their necks and shoulders (well one shoulder) to get some of the kinks out. When the Attendant reached them Jen ordered a caffeinated soda to wake her up and a bag of pretzels; Jethro had the same drink, but he got some cookies instead. They ate in comfortable silence each of them polishing off their food and soda in no time; they hadn't eaten since the night before. They woke up late that morning and had no time to grab anything other than a coffee. Once they were finished the flight attendants were walking back down the aisles, with trash bags, collecting trash. They both threw away their garbage and Jen went to use the restroom and Jethro got her carry-on out of the compartment, knowing that she would have packed stuff for the flight, even if it was work. But he was hoping that she brought nothing work related with her for this flight. He put it down on her seat and sat back down in his. She came back a few minutes later and smiled at the sight of her bag.

"Getting a little bored there Jethro?" She teased him softly.

"Nah, didn't know if you wanted to sleep some more, you looked pretty rested. And I was wondering what you brought with you, because even if you fall back asleep, I don't think I can."

"Well, I think I could fall back asleep, but I don't want to. And I brought a few books, mainly mystery slash romance. But I did bring a chess/checkers set and an extra pair of reading glasses. So you can see the board, if you wanted to play." He nodded and she pulled out her glasses case and slid hers on while handing him her spare pair and pulled out the set. They quickly set it up and soon became engrossed in the game, their competitive natures surfacing.

They both were evenly matched when it came to this particular game, so they managed to stretch the game to last two hours, the appearance of a victor switching constantly throughout the game. Jen grew cocky and made a move putting her king in danger from a piece, that if should move the piece, would result in him losing his queen. But she didn't see that he had another option and slid another piece to place her in checkmate.

She groaned her defeat, and he gave her a smug smirk. He went about starting to reset the board when the Captain's voice came over the intercom telling everyone that they were about to start landing procedures and requesting that all passengers return to their seats and fasten their seatbelts. She just smiled, while inside she was relieved. That match was long and tough and she didn't know if she had the energy for another round. Inside he too was relieved, but because they were almost home, not at the prospect of playing another two hour long game. They sat back in their seats and followed the Captain's request. He reached over and pulled her hand into his and threaded their fingers together.

"By the way," she whispered as she leaned over to his ear, "the only reason I slept so well just now, is because you were here with me. I've tried to sleep on planes after Paris, but it's never been as restful." He smiled a genuine smile and leaned over to kiss her softly, felling her lips curve into a smile against his. They sat in comfortable silence until the plane touched down on the runway and taxied to a gate. They were getting slightly impatient to get off the plane; anxious to get off the plane and get home, but finally they were allowed to deplane. Jethro picked up her carry-on bag and grabbed his from the overhead compartment. He slung both bags across his back and took Jen's good hand as the left the plane and entered the airport. They walked over to baggage claim and picked up Jen's luggage from her trip to Decker's funeral.

"The team is waiting just inside the doors, where visitors say goodbye to the passengers." He told her and they headed in that direction. But before they could go very far Jethro stopped them. He pulled Jen into his arms and whispered, "Welcome home Jen" before lowering his mouth to hers and giving her a passionate kiss. She returned his kiss and they kissed until they ran out of air. When they pulled back Jen whispered back to Jethro, "Welcome home Jethro."

They then resumed their journey, when they went through the barrier they saw the team, Abby, Ducky and Cynthia waiting for them. Abby was bouncing on her feet, ready to go off the wall with how much energy she had. Jen moved to where she had her injured left side behind Jethro as the Goth launched herself at him.

Abby gave Jethro a hug so tight he thought his eyes were bugging out of his eye sockets. Once she released him she turned her attention to Jenny and gave her a gentle hug, being mindful of her boss' shoulder and stomach wounds. Jenny returned the hug, thanking whoever was listening that she didn't get a really tight Abby hug.

Everyone came up and shook Jethro's hand and then waited for Abby to release Jenny. Once the bubbly Goth let her go Jen turned to everyone else, hugging Tony, Ducky and Cynthia. She greeted Tim with a small and gave his shoulder a squeeze before shaking his hand. Ziva came up next and they kissed each other's cheek, as they had a few years ago when she arrived in DC. Once the greetings were done the boys and Ziva grabbed the bags, sticking Tony with the suitcase. And they all headed out to the waiting cars. The boys loaded the bags into one of the cars and then met the rest of the group in the front of the cars.

"What does everyone say to having dinner at the Diner right now?" She may have been asking, but they all knew by her tone that it was a polite order, so everyone nodded their heads and split up. Tony, Tim, and Ziva hopped into one car while everyone else went into the car with Jen's and Jethro's bags in the trunk. They all headed over to the diner. They pulled a couple of tables together and sat down with Ducky at the head with Jethro on his right and Ziva on his left. Jen sat in between Jethro and Abby, while Tim sat in between Ziva and Cynthia, leaving Tony to take the other end seat.

They placed their drink and appetizers orders and sat back and talked with one another as they waited. Everyone knew there was something more to this meeting then just getting together and having a meal, but no one knew what it was about; except Cynthia, who thought she knew what this gathering was for, but she said nothing, content to let her boss handle it.


	12. Chapter 12

A Choice 12

Dinner was a smooth meal. Everyone had a good time, all of them talking and laughing as they passed stories around the table. Jethro and Jenny both didn't speak much, content to just listen to everyone share their stories. After everyone had finished their food, they both decided it was time to tell everyone why they did this.

"Guys, before we get dessert, Jethro and I have some news to share." She waited until she had everyone's attention before continuing.

"Before I start I want to thank you all for your show of support while I was in the hospital. It made me feel like I had a family." She started to get slightly chocked up do Tony stepped in to give her a moment.

"I think I speak for everyone here, when I say that we all consider you a part of the family. And as part of the family we have enacted a policy of no man left behind." Everyone at the table nodded their agreement with Tony's statement. Jenny smiled before continuing to speak.

"Thank you Tony, everyone. Next I would like to formally announce that Jethro and are in a relationship, but most of you already know that." She paused to allow everyone to voice that they all knew this little fact. "And we have decided to not try and hide our relationship, and we are moving into a new place together as soon as we find a place we can both agree on."

"So that's why we packed up most of your house, boss!" Tony exclaimed, earning the look form everyone at the table. He shrank back in his seat and let Jenny continue to speak.

"However, there is some bad news. SecNav does not feel comfortable with my relationship, given our positions inside the Agency; so it has been decided that I am stepping down as Director and allowing Leon Vance to take over as Director."

"What are you going to do?" was asked over and over again, as it swept around the table.

"I am taking over a relatively new position. Lately I have been able to secure funding to create another MCRT here in the DC office. This team will switch off cases with you guys, and will be led by me. So just because I am no longer Director, doesn't mean you guys are rid of me." The last little bit is said in a teasing tone. And that alone breaks the atmosphere.

"So my dear, I am guessing that you chose your love of Jethro over the love you have for your job?" Ducky asked her as she sat down in her seat, just as the milkshakes and malts and floats everybody ordered for dessert arrived.

After the waitress left Jenny answered Ducky's question.

"Yes I choose Jethro this time, and every time from here on out will be Jethro, 100% I have found who I need in my life and how I need him in my life. I need Jethro in my life and I need us to show that we still love each other in order to survive. So even though I do love the job of Director, I know where my priorities need to be." Ducky nodded his agreement before turning to Cynthia, as Ziva had moved to sit closer to Tony, he engaged the young women in conversation. And that was the cue for everyone to return to their conversations form the rest of the meal.

Jethro leaned over and whispered in her ear "Where are your priorities, my lady?" His tone was teasing, but Jenny decided to answer him seriously.

"They are with you and with our relationship." She told him.

So he caught her chin in his hand and pulled her face closer to him. "And I agree and I'm forever grateful about that fact." He told her before kissing her, the world narrowed to just them as soon as she started kissing him back. As they kept on kissing, the rest of the table noticed and started laughing, but the laughing didn't stop the two from kissing each other senseless. They only broke when they each needed air. They rested their foreheads against each other's, both panting heavily and feeling lightheaded.

The group quickly finished their desserts and everyone placed some cash on the table to help cover the bill. Jethro paid quickly and everyone got back into the cars and started dropping everyone off. Till Jethro and Jenny stood in Jenny's driveway, waving Ducky as he drove away in the car. Jethro picked up the bags and carried them into the house and before Jenny could blink he was back. He swept her up into his arms and carried her into the house and up the stairs into her room. They each got ready for bed and Jethro helped change her bandages, before climbing into bed. They met in the middle and Jen laid her left arm across his waist, as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

They each drifted into a peaceful sleep. Their dreams filled of them with their family outside of a beautiful home (Jenny's dream) or of passion filled nights between the two of them, the only sounds are moans of ecstasy and the exchange of the phrase "I love you" (for Jethro). They both enjoyed the dreams they each had and both smiled as they slumbered on.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I have a confession to make: After "Judgment Day" I really don't watch a lot of episodes. I can't stand Leon Vance or the actor who plays him (Rocky Carol). So I have no idea what happens about the NCIS mole other then: Langer is killed and they think he is the mole, Lee is the real mole, Abby helps catch her and Lee ends up getting shot by Gibbs. So this will be the start of the epilogue chapters (maybe three or four) and will happen after Lee is shot and killed. This chapter is a little bit of fluff with a little bit more depth.

A Choice 13

Jenny sat at her desk in the bull pen and watched the people around her work. They no longer threw her weird looks now like they did after she stepped down as Director. She listened to the talk around her as she finished her report. As soon as she sent it to the printer on her side of the partition, opposite the bull pen to Jethro and his team, she heard her boyfriend tell his team to go home. Neither his or her teams had call this weekend, so they were planning on staying at home and finishing the painting that they were doing in the new house.

About a month after the shooting Jen and Jethro were still living in Jen's house; not finding a house they both agreed on. But one day the realtor found the prefect house for them. The three story house was halfway between their two houses, and it was in a quiet neighborhood and closer than either of their two houses to the Navy Yard. Inside they would need to find new furniture, but they got to keep the appliances in the kitchen and laundry room. The house had a small family room and a larger living room as well as a dining room and room for a small table in the kitchen. The house came with five bedrooms and three bathrooms: it had the master bedroom which had an in-suite bathroom and a large walk in closet that had room for all of Jen's clothes as well as Jethro's, two of the bedrooms would be converted to office space for both of them, complete with Jen's study desk, the other two rooms would be converted into spare bedrooms for guests, they were even putting two twin beds in each room for when the team spent the night and Jethro was placing a fold out bed in his closet in the room that would be his office. The house, even when empty, had a warm feeling to it that Jenny loved. The best part for Jethro was the very large three car garage. And since they decided to drive to and from work together (Jenny's way of making sure Jethro came home and vice-versa) they only needed a small amount of the garage space; the rest Jethro was going to use for his wood working and boat building. He was determined to actually finish the boat he started in there this time and not burn it or scrap it like all the others.

They both negotiated the price with the original owners and took possession of it about another month after the shooting. They were painting the house a light brown color in the family room and the living room, a pale yellow for the kitchen and laundry room(Naomi picked the color out), and a light beige for the two guest rooms, and a warm brown for the dining room. They just had to decide on a color for the three bathrooms and the master bedroom. They each got to pick out what color to make their offices.

They were moving into the house, officially, as soon as the painting was finished and the furniture picked out; as of right now they spent the weekdays at Jen's townhouse and weekends at the new place to get it ready. They were bringing some of their old furniture to the house with them: Jen's desk for her office and the study furniture was coming with her and being placed in the family room, and Jethro was bringing his couch and placing it in his workshop so Jen could sit someplace more comfortable then the stool he had in his basement and he was bringing his kitchen table to place in their new kitchen to use when it was just the two of them. The rest of the furniture they were going to buy.

They were painting their offices tonight. Jenny had picked out a pale peach color and a dark orange for accents; while Jethro picked out a darker blue for his office with a sea green color for the trim and accents.

Jenny made her way to the printer on the desk that used to be Langer's and picked up the printed file before slipping it into the folder after signing the bottom of it. She placed it in the lower drawer on the left side of her desk and opened the top drawer on the same side and pulling out her gun and badge. She opened the right side and picked up her purse. She threw her coat over her arm and made her way over to Jethro's side of the bull pen. She passed the team on their way out. Tony nodded to her; still a little cold to her after Cali and the Frog, Ziva gave her a small smile and squeezed her shoulder before following Tony into the elevator. Tim stopped and kissed her on her cheek, like always after Cali.

"Hey Tim, can you and Abby help us with some painting tonight?" She asked him.

"I can help out and I can go ask Abby now, I was heading down there to see her anyway. I'll txt you with her answer in about five minutes?"

"That would be great, but I think I'll ask Jethro what he thinks then txt you to ask her or forget it."

"That sounds good. See you later Jenny." She had told everyone to call her Jenny, unless it would be tactless and/or rude to call her that. Tim headed into the elevator and went down to Abby's Labby. Jenny smiled and walked over to her boyfriend, who was sitting at his desk, typing at his computer as he squinted at the screen.

"Forget your glasses again Jethro?" She teased him.

"Yeah I did and I need to finish this incident report on Lee's shooting for Vance." He grumbled and Jenny saw how stressed he was so she opened her purse and pulled out her glasses and handed them to him. She then walked behind him and started to massage the tense blocks of muscles in his shoulders. She felt him slowly relax and as soon as his muscles were knot free she rested her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck as he finished typing the report. He printed it and like her placed it in a folder in his desk before he shut down his station, grabbed his stuff and they left for the night.

"Want Abby and Tim's help with painting tonight?" She asked as they rode the elevator down to the parking garage.

"The help will be appreciated, but maybe you could have Abby help you while Tim helps me?"

"Don't need Abby's lovely, breathless rants tonight?" She asked, pulling out her phone and txting Tim telling him to ask Abby if she could help with the painting.

"Not tonight." He said simply. Jenny nodded her understanding and leaned against his shoulder as they walked to their car. Her phone buzzed with Tim's reply as she got in the car.

"Tim and Abby will be at our place in about 45 minutes. Abby needs to shut down her equipment and they're stopping for food. Chinese ok with you?" She told him as he sat at the driver's side; another agreement with them: she would drive them to work in the morning and he would drive them home in the evening. He nodded that the food would be fine and they headed home. Once they were out of the Navy Yard his right hand drifted from the wheel to the center console where it found her hand. He grasped her hand and she quickly threaded their fingers together, gripping his hand tighter to show she was there for him. He sent her a small smile, not even a grin and continued to drive. They arrived at their new house and headed up the stairs to the master bedroom and changed from their work attire to jeans and ratty t-shirts to paint in. They headed into the kitchen and Jenny started a pot of coffee as Jethro headed into the laundry/mudroom to grab his paint cans and Jenny grabbed hers from the place she stashed them in. They dropped the cans of paint into their offices and headed back downstairs. They entered the kitchen just as the coffee was ready. Jethro headed over and poured them both mugs of their life's blood.

They drank their coffee in silence, enjoying the comforting quiet. Once they each finished their cup Jethro grabbed both of them and started to wash them in the sink, turning them open side down on the rack.

Jenny watched him as he worked, noticing the tight muscles in his back and the way he held himself. She knew something was bothering him, something with Lee's shooting, most likely. She needed him to relax so she came up behind him and hugged him, her head resting in between his shoulder blades. He slowly started to relax and she loosened her hold on him enough so he could turn around and face her. She buried her head in his neck and spoke, the air tickling his neck and sending Goosebumps to form on his neck as he suppressed the shiver that wanted to ripple down his spine.

"I know something is bothering you. You can't hide it from me, and I wished you didn't try to hide it from me. I want you to talk to me, I love it when you let me in." She sighed when he remained silent and leaned up to give him a quick kiss as they made their way back up the stairs to get started on their offices as they waited for Tim and Abby.

But when they made it to the stairs Jethro pinned her to the wall and kissed her senseless. She responded and wrapped her arms around his neck and let her fingers play in his silver hair and she wrapped one of her legs around his calf and lower thigh. He had one hand in her hair and the other on the wall near her hip. They kept kissing until they ran out of breath then leaned their foreheads together and exchanging quick pecks on noses, cheeks and eye-lids before returning to the lips with a gentler but still passionate kiss.

They continued in this manner until a knock at the door brought them to reality. Jenny went over to the door and opened it to admit a bouncing Abby and Tim who was carrying bags of Chinese take-out. Jethro led the two of them to the kitchen while Jenny closed the door before joining them. The four of them ate quickly then made their way up the stairs. Jethro and Tim went to the first room on the left and Jenny and Abby went to the second door to the right.

Jenny and Abby taped the edges and around the outlets that Jethro had removed that morning before they left for work. Jen then poured out some of the peach paint and handed it to Abby telling her to paint everything except the wall that would be behind Jenny's desk and the trims around the wall by the floor and the door. The wall behind her desk, the trimmings and the door would be the burnt orange color. They both got to work painting the other three walls and soon had them finished with the first coat. They moved on to the door and fourth wall. The trimmings would be done after the second coat of the peach paint dried. Once they were finished they headed to the kitchen and started talking about the rest of the house.

"What about furniture?" Abby asked.

"Well Jethro's workshop will have the couch from his living room in it, he said he wanted me to have a spot to sit that wasn't a stool when I wasn't working on the boat with him, and he wanted that couch. Umm the desk from my study will go in my office. And the computer from my study will go in Jethro's office; I am getting a new one. His table we'll put in the kitchen, after all, there is no need to use the formal dining room if it is just us. The chairs and sofa from the study will go in the family room. And we are picking out some new furniture for the Dining room and living room."

"What about the bedrooms?" Abby asked just as the men came into the room. Jenny waited for them to pour themselves cups of coffee before answering.

"Well, the other two rooms will be guest rooms and we have four twin extra-large beds ordered. They should be delivered on Tuesday. We have been using my old bedframe and his mattress for the time being, but we want to pick out a new bed and mattress for us and Jethro has built a pull out bed in his office and I put a camping bed in mine.

"Why so many beds, Jenny?" Tim asked as he sipped his coffee.

"Well there are you two plus Tony and Ziva. So the guest rooms would be for if you guys spent the night after a gathering or needed a room to crash if something was being done to your apartments. The pull out bed in Jethro's office is for Ducky and the camp bed in mine is for Jimmy or Cassie." Jenny recited.

"Cassie, as in Cassie Yates?" Abby asked.

"Yes she has grown tired of being Senior Field Agent on the Narcotics unit and has agreed to become my Senior Field Agent. She'll start at the beginning of next month. Vance sent out a memo towards the end of the day today to that effect." Jenny told them. And they both (Abby and Tim) nodded. Jethro knew she accepted and said nothing. They chatted for another 40ish minutes before heading back up the stairs to put up the second coat of paint. Another hour later and Abby and Jenny had finished the second coat of both the peach and the orange color.

"I can do the trims later Abby; we've done enough for today" Jenny said as the stood in the middle of the room and admired their work.

"Are you going to have Ziva and Tony help out with the house?" Abby asked.

"Yup they are going to help with the furniture for the dining room and the rest of the house next weekend. And I am going to have Cynthia and Cassie help me hang up some photos and pieces of artwork from the townhouse. And the weekend after that everyone will help out with moving the rest of the stuff into the house and that Sunday we'll have a housewarming party." Jenny went over to the window and opened it to allow fresh air into the room to take away the smell of paint, as well as help the paint dry overnight.

The women left the room and started to pack up the rest of the food and throw it away. The men finished soon after they took the food out to the trash.

"You boys finished?" Jenny asked pecking Jethro on the lips as he came into the kitchen followed by Tim.

"Yup. Two coats of paint and I am doing the trimmings and any touch ups tomorrow." Jethro told her as he wrapped his arms around his waist.

They soon said goodbye to Abby and Tim, locked the doors and took a shower together. They dressed for bed and climbed in. Jenny rested her head and arm across his chest as Jethro pulled her to him. This became their favorite position to sleep in after the shooting.

"Jenny, I am going to break my rule, but sorry for shutting you out, I was just dealing with the fact that I had to shoot Lee. I wished I didn't have to, but I didn't have a choice."

"Jethro, you may not have had a choice, but she did. In the end she chose her country. She chose to let you kill her to kill him. She knew Amanda was safe and that you would never have been able to shoot him without getting her. No matter how good of a sniper you are. Please baby, don't blame yourself." She kissed up his chest and neck to his chin and lips, trying to get him to relax. It worked. "Oh and your no apologizing rule is null and void in this relationship."

That got him to chuckle and he pulled her tighter to him and kissed the top of her head. "Yes dear." She lightly whacked him for his comment. But soon she snuggled deeper into his chest as sleep approached her.

"Good night Jethro." She whispered.

"Night Jenny"

They both started drifting off to sleep, when Jethro remembered.

"I love you Jenny." He mumbled, but she still heard and lightly kissed his chest.

"Love you too Jethro."

After that sleep came over both of them. And their dreams were pleasant for the whole night long.

A/N2: So like I said above this is the beginning of the end. The next three or so chapters will be finishing up events in their present and the last chapter will be an x many years later chapter. Please read and review.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So I need help deciding on which ring Jethro will propose with. I am posting the links to images of both rings on my profile; let me know in a review of this chapter and the next to let me know which ring you think he should use.

A Choice 14

_A Week Later_

Jethro was upstairs, supervising the furniture guys as they put together the bed he and Jen had chosen for their master bedroom. Tony, Tim, Ziva and Abby were assembling the twin beds that they claimed as they're own. They each had helped pick out bedclothes and pillows for their beds. Jenny was downstairs with Cynthia and Cassie arranging the furniture and hanging up the pictures and pieces of art from Jen's townhouse. They also hung some framed pieces from Jethro and Jen's European ops. Images of them in Paris and Italy as well as a few pictures of the whole team from when Jen first joined NCIS. Above the mantle a picture of Jen's father hung next to an image of Kelly and Shannon; while pictures of the whole team, Ducky and Abby were in the living room. Ducky and Jimmy were in the kitchen, cooking the food for when everyone finished. He already had some finger foods: chips and dip and a veggie tray out on the kitchen table.

The sound of footsteps could be heard in both the kitchen and the living room as the furniture guys headed down the stairs along with the team and Abby. Jethro followed behind them, giving Tony a headslap for something he said. Jethro followed the furniture guys out the front door as the team headed into the kitchen to get drinks and some finger foods; while Abby went to where Cynthia and Cassie were hanging the last of the photos and art in the dining room.

Outside Jethro tipped the men and thanked them for their help and watched as they drove off before heading back inside. Jen had also finished and met Jethro in the foyer. Jen had the biggest smile on her face as she approached her partner. He smiled at her as she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his own arms around her and hugged her tight. They stayed until Jethro heard Abby call out to Jen for the final approval in the dining room. Jen sighed and pulled away, having heard her name being called too, she stepped away from Jethro and headed into the dining room and Jethro headed back upstairs to put the finishing touches on their bedroom.

He pulled clean sheets over the new mattress and fresh pillowcases over their pillows and fluffed them up and placed them by the headboard. He then grabbed the broom he had placed there this morning and swept up the dust and debris from the boots of the furniture guys and the assembly of the bed. He then ran into his office and grabbed the vase of orchids and placed them on her bedside table. He stored the bag of rose petals in the master bathroom. He then headed back downstairs to rejoin the party.

He found everyone bringing the food into the dining room from the kitchen and grabbed some beer from the fridge and headed into the kitchen. He passed around the beers and took his place at the head of the table. Jen sat to his left, Cynthia sat across from her. Abby sat next to Jen with Tim across from her. Ziva sat next to Tim with Tony across from her and Cassia sat across from Ducky next to Ziva. The conversation flowed as everyone passed the food around the table.

The dinner went smoothly and after an hour or two once the food was finished the whole gang left and Jethro and Jenny were left alone. After ten minutes the team started to call and check in that they had gotten home. They all called or texted Jen, at Jethro's request, so he could head back up and finish the bedroom. He headed up the stairs and went into their bathroom and grabbed the flower petals from the bathtub. He placed the petals on the bed and the floor around it, trailing the petals to the door. He got to the door and crushed the bags and shoved them into his pockets. He grabbed the key to the door from outside the room on the door sill and locked the door, not wanting Jen to spoil the surprise, and went into his office.

He threw the trash from the petals in the trashcan and got the bag of white tea candles and headed back into the bedroom. He moved the vase of orchids to the bed, in between the pillows and placed the tea candles on both the bedside tables and the vanity. He pulled the disposable lighter out of his pockets and looked at the time on his phone. It was 2200 hours, he and Jen usually got ready for bed around this time. So he went around and lit all the candles before shutting the door and heading downstairs.

He found Jen in the kitchen putting away some of the leftovers and handing the dishes over to Naomi who rinsed them and placed them into the dishwasher. Naomi saw him first and turned to him.

"Senor Gibbs, would you like some fresh coffee?" She asked, and Jethro was suddenly glad that she had agreed to come over to the new house with Jen and not stay at the townhouse; which had been placed on the market the previous day and Jethro's house was going up on Monday. He nodded and Naomi handed him a mug of black coffee. He drank his coffee as he helped put away the Tupperware that Jen handed him.

Soon they had all the food put away and the dishes put away and in the dishwasher which was running. Jen walked with Naomi to the door, setting up a new schedule for Naomi to come over, her daughter had just given birth and Naomi wanted to spend time with her new grandchild and with her daughter. Jethro stayed in the kitchen and washed out his coffee mug and placed it on the drying rack before meeting Jen at the base of the stairs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck.

"We're finally home." She mumbled, voice slightly obscured by his neck.

"Jen, we've been home for a month." He chuckled, and she bit his neck lightly. She pulled back and rested their foreheads together.

"No I mean, this home, it finally feels like a home. All the furniture is set up and ready, the pictures have been hung up, Naomi is here and you're here. This place is officially home. I finally feel at home. I'm home Jethro." She kissed him long and slow but it still had enough passion to blow his mind.

Once again he pressed her to the wall and wound one of her long legs around his thigh. His hands were in her hair, gluing her face to his; while her hands were fisted in the front of his polo-shirt and were pulling him to her as they kissed passionately. They pulled away when air became needed. They rested their foreheads together again as they breathed the same air.

Suddenly Jen's eyes took on a mischievous glint and she pulled away from him and sauntered up the stairs. Jethro smirked and followed her up the stairs. She waited until he was all the way up the stairs before sauntering into her office and shut the door in his face. He unlocked the door to the bedroom and peaked in, all the candles were still lit. He closed the door, but did not latch it; he wanted it to be easy to open the door when Jen came out of her office.

About 20 minutes after she shut the door, the door opened again. Jen sauntered out of her office wearing a deep red silk robe and impossibly high, high heels. She walked, adding an extra sway to her hips, over to him. When she reached him his hands found their way to her hips, his thumbs brushed back and forth across her hip bones, causing Jen to moan and shut her eyes.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Jethro whispered in her ear before drawing the lobe into his mouth. He heard and felt her moan and released her ear and smirked at her.

"I wanted to celebrate are first night with everything moved in, so I went out and picked out a new piece of lingerie that you haven't seen before and this robe, the shoes I took from the closet this morning." She purred into his ear before returning the favor; or attempting too, because as soon as her mouth closed over his lobe, after licking the shell, she found herself being swept up in his arms bridal style.

He lifted her easily into his arms and carried the beautiful women that loved him into the bedroom. She gasped as she took in the candles, orchids and the rose petals that Jethro had placed throughout the room. She turned her head and surveyed the room; staying in Jethro's arms. Jethro started to pepper kisses into her hair and the side of her face, causing her to turn to him and kiss him on the lips rather seriously. He led them over to the bed and let her down. She kept kissing him until she ran out of breath and then pulled away and turned around, but she still stayed in Jethro's arms. She leaned over and picked up the vase of orchids and touched a petal gently before they were swept out of her hands and placed on the vanity in a space free from candles. He walked back to her and once again laid his hands against her hips, Jen's hands found their way to the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head, before heading back down and tracing his well-defined muscles.

The night passed slowly for the couple in love. They made love three times throughout the night and finally around the wee hours of the next morning fell asleep with legs entangled and her head on his chest. He had his arms wrapped around her, holding her to him and one of her arms was laying over his heart and the other was in between them.

Each lover's dreams were filled with a dream of the future: the house still had its "homey" feeling, as well as having a few little feet running around. Little did they know that the other's dream was the same as the other.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: So it's almost three AM here and I am too hot to sleep, so I worked on this chapter and found a place to end it. Again on my profile at the bottom are 2 links to 2 different engagement rings; I would like your help choosing between the two for which one he should purpose to Jen with. I like both of them too much to choose between; therefore you guys get to help me! As always happy reading and R&R to make my day(s)!

A Choice 15

The next few months were filled with ups and downs. The ups included blissfully happy nights between Jenny and Jethro, fun filled nights with the Team, Abby and Ducky. The downs included late working nights for both of them, and tough cases that brought back hard memories for everyone who worked on those cases.

But even during the hard cases both Jenny and Jethro were glad that they had the other. When a particularly hard case of a serial killer who sent the team messages tried to use Jethro to complete the last murder was finished, and the team sent home, Jenny took her lover's hand and pulled him into the elevator where she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight; then she took him home and made slow and tender love to him. Afterwards she snuggled close to him and traced patterns with her finger on his chest. He fell asleep very relaxed that night. And he loved her even more for it.

For Jenny, a case came along where a Navy Admiral committed suicide to protect his three year old son and his mother. Jenny had managed to keep it together at work and find who had threatened the Admiral's family but at home she holed herself up in her office and started snapping at Jethro and Naomi. Jethro called Cassie up and found out some details about the case, before he stormed up the stairs to her office. He knocked on her door and when he heard her tell him to go away, he did the exact opposite: he threatened to break down her door. Jenny knew he was serious so she opened her door and was immediately swept up into her lover's arms. Jethro held her tight and pressed sweet kisses to her scalp and temple. She slowly relaxed and soon Jethro felt his shirt becoming soaked and her body being racked with her sobs as she let the pent up emotions out. Jethro just stood there and held her tightly. Finally his knee was starting to ache so he brought her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He climbed onto their bed without letting her go and settled her in between his legs. She continued to cry until she had no tears left, but tears still wracked her frame. He was silent, rocking her back and forth and occasionally pressing kisses to her forehead. Jenny cried herself to sleep that night. Jethro took care of her and let her fall back onto the bed.

Jethro undressed her and pulled one of his old USMC shirts over her head before heading into the bathroom and grabbing a small towel and getting it wet with warm water. He washed her face before stripping out of his jeans and t-shirt. He pulled another USMC shirt over his head and lifted her into his arms again before turning down the bed and sliding into the covers. He uncurled Jen and laid her on top of him before covering them both up. He held her as he fell asleep; the last thing he remembers is the feeling of arms wrapping around him and her shifting to get comfortable.

He woke up a few hours later to the feel of her lips on his. He made slow and tender love to her as the stars shone overhead. He let his eyes speak everything, not one word passed his lips until she collapsed on his chest and he told her he loved her with all his heart. She kissed his chest before shifting to his side and cuddling into his chest.

Even though life was hard and it wasn't going to get any easier. Jenny and Jethro wouldn't change a thing. It was in that moment; as he held her sleeping form that Jethro knew he wanted to tie her to him in some way shape or form. But he knew that because he had been married and divorced three times after Shannon that Jenny might not take to marrying him as well as he hoped she would. They needed to talk about it and they would within the next week if Jethro had anything to say about it.

***********************************NCIS**************************************

The next week was relatively slow. Each team caught up on paperwork and took turns as Protection Detail for Vance and SecNav at the week-long security conference being held in DC. Both Jenny and Jethro were home before 2000 hours every day that week and because they were home so early they could actually enjoy Naomi's home cooking, instead of warming it up they had it fresh.

Instead of rushing to take quick showers and crawl into bed and find relief in sleep; they had baths where they could sit together, laugh and play before moving the play time to the bed. By the end of the week, both of them were in very good moods and Jethro decided to bring up the conversation he felt they need to have.

"Hey Jen." He asked one night as they sat in the informal dining room/kitchen eating Naomi's chicken enchiladas.

"Yes, Jethro?" She asked looking at him as she ate slowly, to savor the home made food.

"Umm, I'm not quite sure how to say this delicately so I don't want you to be upset or anything if I am blunt." He told her stalling for time so he could figure out how to say what he wanted to say. Jen raised one of her eyebrows and her eyes told him that she was confused, but she nodded at him and swallowed before speaking.

"Jethro, by this point I would be surprised if you were anything other than blunt. But thank you for the warning. Speak your mind, Jethro." She told him. He took a deep breath before blurting out his question.

"Do you want to be married to me?" He watched as both her eyebrows flew to her hairline and her mouth drop open. He watched as she tried to form words, but no sound was coming out and she eventually gave up.

They sat in silence for what felt like forever until Jethro took her silence as her way of trying to find a way to turn him down. And he dropped his gaze, trying to think of a way to salvage what they had and put the thought of marrying her from his mind.

Jen watched as his head dropped and knew what he was thinking: he thought he had just ruined everything.

She knew that he didn't; in fact he just made everything better. But he had also shocked her; she thought that she would have to be the one to bring up marriage and children and she found herself so shocked that she couldn't reply.

But she knew in her heart that if he could promise her that their marriage would be different from the last few, then she would fly with him to Las Vegas and get married in one of those off the Strip chapels at that very moment, if he wanted it. So now all she needed to do was tell him, and maybe shock him as he'd shocked her.

So she stood up from her seat and moved the table towards her. Then she moved over to him and sat in his lap facing him with her legs straddling him.

"Look at me Jethro." She commanded him in a soft voice that was choked with emotion. He picked his head up, but looked everywhere but at her eyes. "Look at me Jethro." She commanded once again, her voice stronger this time and cupped his chin in her hands to bring his eyes closer to her. He slowly moved his eyes to hers.

When she was sure his eyes would not move from hers, she let his chin move and instead moved both hands around his neck and played with the hair and the nape of his neck.

"You need to understand that you've shocked me, and I found no words to answer your question. But I have some questions for you that will help you figure out my answer, for even though I can't say it out loud yet, I know my answer. Can I ask my questions?" He nodded, his eyes still on hers and they held a glimmer of hope.

"Will our union be like that of yours to Diane or Stephanie?"

"No it won't be like that." He whispered and the glimmer of hope turned into a small flame, like that of a candle. She nodded before continuing.

"Will we ever divorce each other?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it." He replied with strong feelings behind it. The flame grew again to the fire of a campfire as you roast marshmallows for smores.

"Are you using me to replace Shannon?"

"No, I never have; not in Paris and not now." The flame was a bonfire now.

"Your answers have been all negative and now my last question should have a different answer: Will you love me and our child, always?" She trailed off and watched as the words registered in his brain, or at least she hoped.

"I will always love you, and I will never stop, nor shall my love diminish, only grow." She waited to see if the last half of her question registered in his head; her fingers now playing in the hairs on the back of his head. After a few minutes his eyes grew confused, when she didn't tell him her decision.

"Repeat my question back to me." She said, her heart slowing down.

"You asked if I would always love you and our chil-. . ." He trailed off as the words finally sunk in and Jenny took a small breath: he knew now. Now all her anxiety was focused on if he would be happy or not.

He just stared at her and for a few long minutes nobody moved and silence reigned in the house. Jenny grew fidgety and her movements brought him back out of his thoughts.

"Jenny. . . Are you trying to tell me that you're. . ?" He trailed off again as the words sunk into his heart. He could feel his heart swelling, even bigger then it was before.

"Jethro, I'm pregnant." She told him and as soon as she got the words out, she found she couldn't speak, breathe, or move.

Jethro had moved his arms lightning fast and held her to him tightly, as his lips attacked hers. He kissed her with a burning passion and she returned the passion kiss of kiss.

Eventually they needed air and the kiss broke.

"Jethro, I will gladly answer yes when: you have a ring and you ask properly. I want to be thoroughly wooed." She told him.

"So you want me to take you to a fancy restaurant for dinner on a Friday night, let you get all dolled up in your fanciest dress, take you dancing as we wait for our food, then before we order dessert get down on one knee and show you the ring as I make this long winded-speech, finishing with the question of will you marry me?" He asked, teasing her.

"Well, I would like for you to have a ring and get down on one knee. I don't need the fancy dress or restaurant, or the long winded speech. As long as you ask me and get down on one knee with the ring, I'll be happy." She answered.

"Fair enough. Do you want to pick out your own ring, or leave it to me?" He asked moving his hands from her waist to her lower back.

"Umm, pick it out, but don't have your heart set on it, if I don't like it. But I am pretty sure that you have to worry about that; as long as it has a diamond and fits on my finger I'll be happy." She told him as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"What if I told you I had a ring?" He whispered in her ear as his hands stroked up and down her spinal column.

"I would ask to make sure that it didn't belong to Stephanie or Diane." She whispered back, moving her head to kiss his neck.

"Then to that I would say that they got to keep their engagements rings and I kept the wedding rings."

"Then I would ask if the ring was Shannon's?" They didn't know why they were continuing in this vein, but it worked, so they kept going.

"To that I would say no. She was buried with our rings, well mine's in Kel's grave." His voice became choked with emotion and Jenny picked her head up to nuzzle her nose to his jaw and kiss his cheek.

"Then whose ring is it?" Jen asked, genuinely curious.

"My mother's. My dad gave it to me after Kel was born. He couldn't find it in time for me to purpose to Shan with it, but I was keeping it on the off-chance that whoever married Kel would use it to purpose to her. Or as an anniversary ring with Shannon."

His voice was still choked with emotion and Jen's eyes were watering. She kissed him softly, just letting love show in the kiss. He knew what she was doing and didn't try to deepen the kiss, like he normally would have. They kissed long and slow and didn't stop until breathing became an issue. She rested her forehead against his and just stared into his beautiful eyes. He stared back and the love between the two would make even scrooge cry.

"Can I see the ring?" She asked and Jethro looked at her and eyes and a certain light reappeared in his eyes and Jen knew that he was about to tease her. She let him and the playfulness of earlier returned.

"I don't know; it might not fit." He teased her and she giggled and gave him a quick kiss. His hands fell to her thighs and kissed her again, this time she let him deepen the kiss, the kiss remained slow, but it took on a passionate edge and they kept it up until the absolutely needed air. He stood up and took her with him before heading towards his basement. He sat her on the counter and kissed her cheek quickly before heading into the basement.

"Don't you move from that spot" he shouted over his shoulder, causing her to roll her eyes. But she listened and stayed on the counter, anxiously waiting for him to get back up here.

She heard him move things around and heard him grumble, then he gave a sound of triumph and she heard him coming back up the stairs, slowly. He came back into the room, but hesitated in the doorway.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: So the ring has been decided. I ended up with a tie between the two rings so I asked my friend who I recently got into this show for what she thought. And I am going with that ring. But rest assured that in one of my other fics the other ring will appear (not "Child" I have a ring for that one already). So here is the continuation of the last chapter. About an earlier note: I'll actually have 17 chapters. The next one will be about 10 years later and will be the last, but the story is now complete, as I have no clue how long the epi will take me.

A Choice 16

Jethro hesitated in the doorway, once again hit by nerves. He loved this ring, he remembered seeing it on his mother's finger and how happy his mom and dad were. He hoped that this ring would show how happy they could be, so he hoped that she liked it. He took a few deep breaths and looked her in the eyes.

It was the love shinning in her eyes that gave him the courage to walk back into the kitchen with the ring in his pocket inside of a really small jewelry box. She watched him as he walked back into the kitchen and when he was a few arm lengths away; she opened her arms for him to walk into. Which he did. She nuzzled her nose into his neck and felt his pulse, that was faster than normal, slow down; she curled her legs around his lower thighs to keep him close to her and her arms wrapped around his waist. She felt his arm move to the front of his jeans, he caressed her arm on his way down and pulled out the small box.

He pressed the box into her hand that had let him go so he could reach the ring. She just held the box and looked at him; she knew he wanted to say something, so she was going to give him the opportunity to say what he wanted.

"I remember that as a child I always saw this ring on my mother's wedding ring finger and I saw how happy they were. That is why, I think, I didn't use this ring with any of my exes. I think that somewhere deep inside my heart I knew that they were only replacements. But with you, I had dreams of me proposing with this ring." He trailed off, and looked at her as he waited for her to open the box and see the ring.

She slowly lowered her eyes from his and turned them to the box. She slowly opened the box to reveal Jethro's mother's engagement ring. The ring was a gold band with five diamonds. The diamond in the center was larger than the other four. Jenny loved it immediately; it was the elegantly simple design style she liked. Now it would just need to fit her finger. She knew that at some point in her pregnancy that her ring would not fit due to swelling of her fingers, but until then she planned on never taking the ring off.

Jethro pulled the ring out of the box and with fingers that were shaking slightly. His other hand let go of her waist and reached for her left hand.

"I want to see if the ring fits." He told her as he slipped the ring onto her ring finger. The ring was a little loose, but not so loose that it would slip off her finger. It would fit for a little while, until her fingers were too swollen. But that wouldn't be for a few months.

He slipped the ring off of her finger and placed it back in the box, before looking back at her.

"Go change into something comfortable. I am going to take you out for dessert." He told her with a light shining in his beautiful sapphire eyes, making his eyes seem to shine like a star.

"But what if the dessert I want is right in front of me?" She teased him as she pulled him closer; her lips hovering millimeters from his. She watched as his eyes darkened and his pupil's dilated.

"Well if you still want more dessert after a scoop of ice-cream or a slice of pie and a cup of coffee, then I think we could come to an agreement about what else to have." He told her before lightly pecking her lips before he stepped out of her arms; giving her room to hop down off the counter. She hopped off the counter and headed upstairs to change out of the sweats and tank top she had changed into after work.

Jethro had changed into jeans and a simple t-shirt after work. He wondered over to the entryway and opened the closet and pulled out a hoodie for himself and a jacket for Jenny.

She came down the stairs dressed in a worn pair of dark skinny jeans that were tucked into black boots with no heel and a long sleeved royal blue sweater. She smiled at him as she came down the stairs. When she reached him, he helped her slip into her coat. Jethro pulled on his coat before placing his hand at the small of Jen's back and leading her out to his truck.

They drove to Jethro's favorite Diner. The Diner held memories for them both.

Jethro first came here after returning from Mexico, after Hernandez's death. The lady who ran it gave him solid advice to live so he could earn his place by his deceased wife's and daughter's side. She told him that even with his heart shattered; someone could still come along and put the pieces back together, even if it took years to do so. Jethro hadn't totally headed her advice in those first few years, but her words remained in the back of his head. And whenever he thought about Jen, both before Europe and after she returned as Director, he thought that he had found the "someone to put the pieces back together" and he was glad that he hadn't pulled the trigger that day on the beach.

For Jenny, this was where they went the first time Jenny had to shoot someone. They were chasing a suspect through the back streets and alleyways of DC when their guy turned around and shot at Decker and Burley. He hit Decker with a graze and made both men duck to find cover. Jenny had watched as both men hid after the first two shots and mindlessly aimed at their suspect and shot. Her shot was to the man's throat; severing his carotid artery. She pulled the boys up and started first aid on Decker's wound while Burley cleared the suspect and called Gibbs and Pacci who were at the suspect's house while the others took his work.

Jethro and Pacci had raced over to the scene with an ambulance and Ducky following. The medics went straight to Burley and Decker, Ducky and Pacci went to the dead suspect; Ducky dealing with the body and Pacci dealing with the weapon and other evidence that had spilled from the guy's pockets. Jethro went straight to Jenny who, after letting the medics treat Decker, was just staring off into space. He placed his jacket around her shoulders and pulled him into her side; trying to keep her warm.

Decker and Burley were cleared and the ambulance drove away. Jethro had Pacci ride back with Ducky and Decker and Burley took the car they came in. Jethro lead Jenny to his car and instead of taking her back to HQ or her house; he took her to the diner and made her drink and eat some hot food. That was the first time she saw him relax and when her crush started.

Then after returning to California; the diner was their first date. That date was really where they solidified this new relationship. They cleared the air over the many misunderstandings they had between the two after she returned as Director.

They sat down in their usual booth and a waitress, the owner actually, walked over to them and went to pour them each a cup of coffee; Jethro let her but Jenny stopped her.

"Sorry Trisha, but I can't have coffee for the next 7 months, but I'll take a hot chocolate." She told her with a smile.

Trisha beamed at the two of them as she hurried back into the kitchen to get the hot chocolate. She brings it back to the table and retreats for a few minutes while she tends to some other customers. When she returns after a few minutes, the couple orders two slices of pecan pie with whip cream toppings. As she heads back into the kitchen to get their pie slices, she sees Jenny go into the bathroom and after the door closes Jethro gets up and heads over to her.

He approaches the counter and smiles at Trisha, as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the ring box.

"There anyway you could slip this in her slice; maybe in the cream or something?"

"Yeah, I can do that. She knows what you're doing?"

"Yes, I asked in a very roundabout way during dinner tonight and she's seen the ring; I needed to see if it fit. But I did want to propose right. So here we are. Thanks Trish." He handed her the ring and slipped the box back into his pocket. He managed to slip back into his seat, just as Jenny came out of the bathroom.

She smiled at him as she sat back down. Trisha waited for her to get settled in her seat before moving out from behind the counter with the pie pieces in hand. She catches Jethro's eyes before setting down his piece first, then hers. Trisha put the ring on top of the whip cream, like it was a cherry. She winked at both of them then walked away and sat down on the stool she kept behind the counter and watched the scene play out.

Jenny smiled when she saw the ring. She knew that Jethro was going to at least get down on one knee and propose, but whatever else happened besides that would be a surprise. Jenny picked her eyes up from the ring and locked eyes with Jethro. Jethro smiled back at her and got up from his seat and knelt down next to her.

"I love you. With all my heart I love you. After I heard about Kelly and Shannon, I flew into a rage, and I think you know what I did. After I returned I stopped here and Trisha gave me a cup of black coffee and some solid advice about earning my place next to them and keeping my heart and mind open for the one who could put the shattered pieces of my heart back together. Well, I found and I let her get away from me once and almost a second time. There is no way she'll get a third chance. So Jenny Shepard, will you marry me?"

Both Jenny and Trisha had tears in their eyes; Trisha had no idea that he remembered that, he was pretty spaced out and grieving at the time. Jenny was shocked that he had spoken so much, and at how beautiful it was. She leaned down and kissed both of his cheeks and whispered her answer in his ear.

"Yes." She breathed.

Trisha could tell that she said yes, because Jethro took the ring from the cream on top of the pie and cleaned it up with his napkin and slid it onto her finger, before kissing her for a good long time.

They kept the kiss long but without tongues; they remembered where they were. They would save the real kiss for when they got home. They broke the kiss and Jethro stood up, Trisha could hear his knee pop as he stood up. He sat back down in his seat and held her left hand in his right as she ate her slice of pie. He also ate his and both Jen and Trisha were impressed with his use of his left hand instead of his right. When they finished Jethro paid for their dessert then they headed back to their house to celebrate their engagement and impending parenthood.

They both thought that their dreams were coming true: they had their other half, they would marry their other half, and they had created a child together.


End file.
